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# hyperbole

«hyperbole» in Mova's school dictionary: **a huge exaggeration that is not meant to be taken…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (hyperbole, uncountable; a hyperbole, hyperboles)

### meaning for a pupil

Hyperbole is a huge exaggeration that is not meant to be taken literally, used to make a point or be funny, like «I've told you a million times». [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyperbole/#m1)

### sense in the lessons

In English lessons, hyperbole is a figure of speech, along with simile and metaphor. Writers use it for humour, drama or strong feeling. In everyday speech it is everywhere: «I'm starving», «this bag weighs a ton». In adverts and politics, hyperbole can make things sound better than they are, so readers should check facts.

### examples

- «I'm so hungry I could eat a horse» is hyperbole. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyperbole/#x1)
- «I've told you a million times» is an example of hyperbole. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyperbole/#x2)
- The poet used hyperbole to show how much she loved him. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyperbole/#x3)
- Find the hyperbole in the paragraph. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyperbole/#x4)
- The advert's claim to be «the best in the universe» is hyperbole. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyperbole/#x5)
- «This bag weighs a ton!» she said, using hyperbole. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyperbole/#x6)

### note

Say «hy-PER-bo-lee», four syllables — not «hyper-bowl». Often uncountable; «a hyperbole» for one example. Adjective: hyperbolic. In maths, «hyperbola» is a different word: a type of curve.

### In the corpora

- ["Cost an arm and a leg" means cost a lot of money; it is a deliberate exaggeration, called hyperbole.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/25-idioms-taken-literally/8/)
- [But hyperbole has a twin trap.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/45-dead-a-mile-long-and-everyone-more-everyday-hyperbole/3/)
- [Adverts and headlines use hyperbole for a job: to make you buy, click or read.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/47-the-best-ever-and-shocking-adverts-and-headlines/0/)
- [Understatement is the opposite of hyperbole: it makes things sound SMALLER than they are.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/0/)
- [Lewis Carroll and Kenneth Grahame both loved hyperbole and understatement, and they made jokes out of them.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/language/54-off-with-her-head-and-the-finest-house-on-the-river-alice-and-toad/0/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «hyperbole» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/hyperbole/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.