Hyperbole, from ancient Greek "ὑπερβολή", meaning excess or exaggeration) is a figure of speech in which statements are exaggerated. It may be used to evoke strong feelings or to create a strong impression, but is not meant to be taken literally. With the word hyperbole it can also mean an exaggerated feeling about something.

Hyperbole is used to create emphasis. It is a literary device often used in poetry, and is frequently encountered in casual speech. It is also a visual technique in which a deliberate exaggeration of a particular part of an image is employed. An example is the exaggeration of a person's facial feature in a political cartoon.

[edit] Etymology

Derived from the Greek ὑπερβολή (literally 'overshooting' or 'excess'), it is a cognate of hyperbola. Antonyms to hyperbole include meiosis, litotes, understatement, and bathos (the 'let down' after a hyperbole in a phrase).

[edit] Examples

Some examples of use of hyperbole include:

• These books weigh a ton. (These books are heavy.)
• I could sleep for a year. (I could sleep for a long time.)
• The path went on forever. (The path was very long.)
• I'm doing a million things right now. (I'm busy.)
• I could eat a horse. (I'm hungry.)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Look up hyperbole in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• A Glossary of Rhetorical Terms with Examples
• Audio illustrations of hyperbole as figure of speech