Hyperbole

Have you ever had a friend who over-exaggerates everything?

"I was dying of shame!"

That friend is engaging in hyperbole.

Hyperbole is a figure of speech where ideas are exaggerated for the sake of emphasis.

For instance, if you have a fever, you might say something like, My body feels like it's on fire!

Your body isn't actually on fire, but the use of hyperbole helps illustrate your point – you feel terrible!

Here are some other examples of hyperbole:

• My grandfather is older than dirt.
• Her abs were as hard as rocks!
• I was so busy I felt like I was doing a million things at once!
• She was dying to get her hands on the new handbag.
• He was as tall as a giraffe.