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exaggerate

 - 3 dictionary results

ex⋅ag⋅ger⋅ate

  [ig-zaj-uh-reyt] verb, -at⋅ed, -at⋅ing.
Use exaggerate in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to magnify beyond the limits of truth; overstate; represent disproportionately: to exaggerate the difficulties of a situation.
2. to increase or enlarge abnormally: Those shoes exaggerate the size of my feet.
–verb (used without object)
3. to employ exaggeration, as in speech or writing: a person who is always exaggerating.
Origin:
1525–35; < L exaggerātus (ptp. of exaggerāre heap up), equiv. to ex- ex- 1 + agger heap + -ātus -ate 1

Related forms:
ex⋅ag⋅ger⋅at⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
ex⋅ag⋅ger⋅a⋅tor, noun

Synonyms:
1. embellish, amplify, embroider. 2. inflate.

Antonyms:
1. minimize.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To exaggerate
ex·ag·ger·ate   (ĭg-zāj'ə-rāt')   
v.   ex·ag·ger·at·ed, ex·ag·ger·at·ing, ex·ag·ger·ates

v.   tr.

  1. To represent as greater than is actually the case; overstate: exaggerate the size of the enemy force; exaggerated his own role in the episode.

  2. To enlarge or increase to an abnormal degree: thick lenses that exaggerated the size of her eyes.

v.   intr.
To make overstatements.

[Latin exaggerāre, exaggerāt-, to heap up, magnify : ex-, intensive pref.; see ex- + aggerāre, to pile up (from agger, pile, from aggerere, to bring to : ad-, ad- + gerere, to bring).]
ex·ag'ger·at'ed·ly adv., ex·ag'ger·a'tion n., ex·ag'ger·a'tive, ex·ag'ger·a·to'ry (-ə-tôr'ē, -tōr'ē) adj., ex·ag'ger·a'tor n.
Synonyms: These verbs mean to represent something as being larger or greater than it actually is: exaggerated the size of the fish I caught; inflated his own importance; magnifying her part in their success; overstated his income on the loan application.
Antonym: minimize
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

exaggerate 
1533, "to pile up, accumulate," from L. exaggeratus, pp. of exaggerare "heighten, amplify, magnify," from ex- "thoroughly" + aggerare "heap up," from agger (gen. aggeris) "heap," from aggerere "bring together, carry toward," from ad- "to, toward" + gerere "carry." Sense of "overstate" first recorded in Eng. 1564.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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