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Dictionary.com

stretch the truth

VERB
embroider
Synonyms
STRONGEST
embellish
STRONG
aggrandize amplify color distend dramatize elaborate enhance enlarge expand falsify fudge heighten hyperbolize lie magnify overdo overemphasize overestimate overstate pad puff romanticize stretch
WEAK
blow-up build up make federal case make mountain out of molehill overelaborate overembellish play up spread on thick yeast
Antonyms
STRONG
abridge compress condense contract curtail decrease diminish lessen lower reduce shorten shrink simplify
VERB
fib
Synonyms
STRONG
concoct equivocate fabricate falsify invent jive palter plant prevaricate promote shovel
WEAK
create fiction make up speak with forked tongue tell a little white lie trump up
Antonyms
STRONG
tell the truth
WEAK
be honest

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Had that ruling held, Bollinger said, it would have set a “dangerous precedent for consumer protection laws” by emboldening music advertisers to stretch the truth.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 18, 2022

Q: Did you and Steve Jobs ever feel like you had to stretch the truth during Apple’s early days?

From Seattle Times • Mar. 21, 2022

For many, the saga represents the worst excesses of Silicon Valley’s start-up culture, where founders regularly stretch the truth in search of fortune and fame.

From New York Times • Jan. 3, 2022

"Ruffo was known to be a storyteller, someone who liked to stretch the truth, and had a desire to impress others," investigators said.

From Fox News • Oct. 7, 2021

At first I meant to stretch the truth, but then I out-and-out lied to my sisters.

From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia