How to use Exaggerate and Exaggeration in English - Word meanings and grammar use

Hi everybody, this is Misterduncan in England. How are you today? Are you okay? I hope so!

Are you happy? I hope so! Today we will take a look at something we all do, from time to time.

Especially when we are trying to impress someone for effect.

In this lesson I will talk about exaggerate and exaggeration.

The word 'exaggeration' is a noun that names the action of overstating something.

That is to say that a person says something to make a thing or occurrence much better,

or much worse than it actually was. To overstate an event as being better than

it was, or much worse than it actually felt, is an exaggeration. The verb form of 'exaggeration'

is 'exaggerate'. You exaggerate something. So when you exaggerate something, you are

making an exaggeration. The adverb form is exaggeratedly. A person who exaggerates is

exaggerating. A statement that represents something that is better or worse than it

really is can be described as an exaggeration. Let's take a look at some simple examples or exaggeration.

You went fishing last week, but all you caught was a tiny fish that no

one would be impressed with. So when you tell your friends about the fishing trip, you tell

them that after struggling and pulling at the line for what seemed like ages, you caught

a huge fish. It was this big. Of course you are exaggerating the story. The fish was nothing more than a tiddler.

You had a slight cold for a couple of days, which lead you to take

some time off work. After returning to work you explain to your work colleagues that you

were so ill. You felt really unwell. You thought you were going to die. Of course you are exaggerating

the story so as to get sympathy from your work friends. You have embellished the story.

It is an exaggeration of the truth.

You get accidentally struck by a car whilst crossing the road.

The incident is a minor one, but you pretend to be hurt much more than is real.

You exaggerate your injuries so as to get more sympathy and perhaps even more money

from the car driver's insurance. You are play-acting. You are making the situation seem worse than

it really is. You are exaggerating the outcome of the accident. We often exaggerate so as

We often exaggerate so as to appear better than we really are, or much worse off than is true.

An exaggeration is

an inaccurate depiction of what occurred. To exaggerate is to blow something out of

proportion. So a little rain becomes a monsoon. A small cough or fever becomes a serious illness.

A minor injury becomes a life threatening wound. A small moment of inconvenience becomes

a terrible situation. Sometimes it is easy to exaggerate an occurrence or personal experience

for effect. We might exaggerate our reaction to something for effect. The bigger the reaction,

the more dramatic the moment appears. This particular form of exaggeration is common now

on TV. Reality television encourages those taking part to overblow or overreact to something

for the cameras. It is done for effect. To keep the audience watching.

Another form of exaggeration occurs when we describe our appearance, or how a certain part of our body

appears. Men will often exaggerate the size of a certain part of their body. Yes really...it's

this big. sadly that is an exaggeration. In reality it is only...this big.

There are many ways of describing the act of exaggerating something.You embellish something.

You blow something out of proportion. You overstate something. You overplay something. To make

a bad thing seem worse than it really is can be described as 'making a mountain out of

a molehill'. You lay it on thick. You magnify the details of the situation. To over-dramatise

is to exaggerate. A person who is doing the exaggerating might be described as being melodramatic.

To sensationalise something is to exaggerate it. Advertisements often exaggerate reality

so as to add value to a product. Some might say that we now live in a world where exaggeration

has become the new normal. What do you think?

Of course we all exaggerate from time to time. Sometimes we do it for sympathy, sometimes for glory,

and sometimes because it makes us feel in control.

It would be fair to say that it is easy to get carried away whilst describing something.

Sometimes exaggeration comes very easily. The opposite of exaggerate

is 'understate'. To play down or minimise something is the opposite of exaggerate.

In its original use the word exaggerate meant 'pile up' or make into a heap.

I don't know about you but I think today's English lesson was the best ever in the history

of the universe. It was amazing, fantastic, unbelievable. Okay, perhaps I was exaggerating

a little bit there. That is all from me for today. I will see you all soon for another lesson

right here on YouTube. This is Misterduncan in the birthplace of English saying stay happy

and of course...

ta ta for now. 8-)

http://www.youtube.com/duncaninchina