exaggerate

Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

ex·ag·ger·ate [exaggerate exaggerates exaggerated exaggerating] BrE [ɪɡˈzædʒəreɪt] NAmE [ɪɡˈzædʒəreɪt] verb intransitive, transitive
to make sth seem larger, better, worse or more important than it really is
• The hotel was really filthy and I'm not exaggerating.
•~ sth He tends to exaggerate the difficulties.
•I'm sure he exaggerates his Irish accent (= tries to sound more Irish than he really is).
•Demand for the product has been greatly exaggerated.
Verb forms:

Word Origin:
mid 16th cent.: from Latin exaggerat- ‘heaped up’, from the verb exaggerare, from ex- ‘thoroughly’ + aggerare ‘heap up’ (from agger ‘heap’). The word originally meant ‘pile up, accumulate’, later ‘increase praise or blame’, giving rise to current senses.

Thesaurus:
exaggerate verb I, T
•The dangers have been greatly exaggerated.
overstate • • dramatize • |formal embellish • |especially journalism inflate •
Opp: play sth down, Opp: understate
exaggerate/overstate/inflate the importance/significance of sth
exaggerate/dramatize/embellish a story
greatly/grossly/vastly/wildly/somewhat exaggerate/overstate/inflate sth

Example Bank:
•John does tend to exaggerate slightly.
•The allegations were highly exaggerated.
•The historical significance of these events can be easily exaggerated.
•These figures have been greatly exaggerated.
•Demand for satellite television has been greatly exaggerated.
•I'm sure he exaggerates his Irish accent.
•The hotel was really filthy and I'm not exaggerating.

• Từ đồng nghĩa / Synonyms:
  overdo, overstate, overdraw, hyperbolize, hyperbolise, magnify, amplify
• Từ trái nghĩa / Antonyms:
  understate, minimize, minimise, downplay