What does exaggerate mean?
Word: Exaggerate
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Exaggerate means to make something sound bigger, better, worse or more important than it really is.
Synonyms: overstate, magnify, inflate, overdo
Antonyms: minimise, play down
How do you spell exaggerate?
Syllables: ex - ag - ger - ate
Tricky part: There is a double g in the middle, though it sounds like a single j.
Watch out for: exagerate, exxagerate, exajerate
Memory tip: When you exaggerate you make things bigger, so the word itself gets a bigger, doubled g.
Exaggerate in a sentence
Example 1: My brother exaggerates; he said the queue was a kilometre long, but it was only twenty people.
Example 2: Please do not exaggerate the damage; only one window pane is cracked.
Example 3: Fishermen in stories always exaggerate the size of the fish that got away.
Fun Fact
Exaggerate comes from a Latin verb meaning 'to heap up', built on a Latin word for a heap or pile of earth. Exaggerating is heaping more onto a story than it really holds.
Practise the CREST Way
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) exaggerrate
b) temperature
c) obedient
d) persuade
Show answer
a) exaggerrate. Exaggerate has only one r; the other three are spelt correctly.
Word Cookie
Insert the correct pair of letters to form a word:
ex_gg_rate
a) a, a
b) a, e
c) e, e
d) e, a
Show answer
b) a, e. The vowels go a before the double g and e after it.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
exaggerate
a) understate
b) describe
c) boast
d) repeat
Show answer
a) understate. Boasting, describing and repeating can all keep a story big; understating makes it seem smaller.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
gaterxeage
a) aggregate
b) aggravate
c) exaggerate
d) exasperate
Show answer
c) exaggerate. Aggravate needs a v and aggregate a third g, and neither has an x; exasperate needs an s and a p. These ten letters make exaggerate.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which sentence is an exaggeration?
a) I have told you twice to shut the door.
b) The old wooden door creaks when it is opened.
c) I have told you a million times to shut the door.
d) Please shut the door when you leave the room.
Show answer
c) I have told you a million times to shut the door.
2. Clara says you exaggerated about the rain on your trip. She means you ____.
a) told it in the wrong order
b) made it sound far heavier than it was
c) said it more quietly than usual
d) forgot to mention it at all
Show answer
b) made it sound far heavier than it was
