Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun The use of hyperbole.
- noun An instance of hyperbole.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun In geometry, a curve the equation of which is derived from that of another curve by writing xy for y.
- noun The use of hyperbole; the character of being hyperbolical.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun The use of hyperbole.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun uncountable The use of
hyperbole - noun countable An instance of hyperbole
Etymologies
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Examples
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Shelby Steele, in a triumphant act of hyperbolism, claimed that "Sotomayor has demonstrated a Hispanic chauvinism so extreme that it sometimes crosses into outright claims of racial supremacy."
Eric Alterman: Think Again: Sotomayor and SCOTUS: Captured on a Carousel of Time 2009
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The loss of Arlen Specter has spurred a bit of frantic hyperbolism from within the GOP ranks.
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I denied this with native hyperbolism, saying that I was content to remain in _statu quo_ until the doom cracked, and that the conservatory was for me the equivalent of Paradise.
Baboo Jabberjee, B.A. F. Anstey 1895
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Their oriental mellifluousness, hyperbolism, and obsequious politeness of speech have, as well as the Asiatic appearance of their features and dress, been noticed by all travellers in Poland.
Frederic Chopin as a Man and Musician Niecks, Frederick 1888
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Francis Beaumont, who was a prominent member of that jovial senate, and to whom Shirley applies the fine hyperbolism that “he talked a comedy,” was born in 1586, and died in 1615.
Shakespeare His Life Art And Characters Hudson, H N 1872
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Beaumont, who was a prominent member of that jovial senate, and to whom Shirley applies the fine hyperbolism that "he talked a comedy," was born in 1586, and died in 1615.
Shakespeare: His Life, Art, And Characters, Volume I. With An Historical Sketch Of The Origin And Growth Of The Drama In England Henry Norman Hudson 1850
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We must either, therefore, consider this as a mere hyperbolism of imagination, in the heat of debate, or, what I should rather believe, a defective statement by the reporter of Mr. Randolph's argument.
Sketches of the Life and Character of Patrick Henry Wirt, William, 1772-1834 1817
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We must either, therefore, consider this as a mere hyperbolism of imagination, in the heat of debate, or, what I should rather believe, a defective statement by the reporter of Mr. Randolph's argument.
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Always fond of the extravagant, and mistaking hyperbolism for grandeur, quaintness for wit, and the obscure for the sublime, the Spaniards readily fell in with the fashion of the day; and the satire of Cervantes proved powerless here.
Letter 164 1796
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Spiritualism: he preaches the efficacy of repentance towards forgiveness of sin; I require a counterpoise of good works to redeem it, &c. &c. It is the innocence of his character, the purity and sublimity of his moral precepts, the eloquence of his inculcations, the beauty of the apologues in which he conveys them, that I so much admire; sometimes, indeed, needing indulgence to eastern hyperbolism.
Memoir, Correspondence, And Miscellanies, From The Papers Of Thomas Jefferson, Volume 4 Thomas Jefferson 1784
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