Hyperbole is a figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect, not meant to be taken literally. It involves overstating or magnifying a situation to create a dramatic or humorous impact.
Examples:
- I’ve told you a million times to clean your room!
- Here, “a million times” is a hyperbolic expression, emphasizing the speaker’s frustration without intending to be taken literally.
- She’s so hungry, she could eat a horse.
- This hyperbolic statement exaggerates someone’s hunger to emphasize its intensity.
- His backpack weighs a ton!
- The exaggeration of the weight of the backpack adds emphasis to how heavy it feels, even though it’s not meant to be taken as an actual measurement.
- I have a mountain of homework to do.
- Describing a large amount of homework as a “mountain” is a hyperbolic way of emphasizing the workload.
- The car is as slow as a snail.
- By comparing the speed of a car to that of a snail, this hyperbole emphasizes the slowness of the vehicle.
- I waited for ages in line.
- Using “ages” exaggerates the length of time the person had to wait, emphasizing the impatience or frustration.
- My backpack is bursting at the seams with textbooks.
- This hyperbolic expression emphasizes the fullness of the backpack by suggesting it is about to burst, even if it’s not meant to be taken literally.