sensationalize

IPA/senˈseɪʃənəlaɪz/
KK[sɛnsˌeʃənəlˈaɪz]IPA/senˈseɪʃənəlaɪz/

sensationalize — verb

  • sensationalizepresent simple I / you / we / they
  • sensationalizeshe / she / it
  • sensationalizedpast simple
  • sensationalizing-ing form

1. to describe a story or event with deliberately dramatic language, making it soun

1.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to describe a story or event with deliberately dramatic language, making it sound far more shocking or exciting than it really was

Example

The news channel sensationalized Kian's small car crash into a terrible accident.

collocation: sensationalize + [trivial event] + into + [dramatic version]

Lara refused to let the reporter sensationalize her family's sad story.

Common collocations
  • sensationalize a story
  • sensationalize a crime
  • sensationalize an event
  • sensationalize + into
Synonyms
  • exaggerate

    broader in scope; used for any overstatement, not only in media

  • dramatize

    can be neutral or positive; used in arts contexts as well

  • overplay

    less formal; often used about overstating importance, not narrative detail

  • inflate

    focuses on making numbers or significance seem bigger, not on storytelling style

Antonyms
  • downplay

    to make something seem less important than it really is

  • understate

    to describe something as smaller or less serious than it is

Grammar Patterns

sensationalize + [story/event/information]

sensationalize + [something] + into + [something more dramatic]

Usage Note

Object is always a story, piece of news, or information — never a person. Most often used in criticism of media reporting.

Common Mistakes

The director sensationalized the actress in the film.
The director sensationalized the actress's personal life in the article.
You sensationalize a story or piece of information, not a person directly.

Word family

  • sensation
    nounB2
  • sensational
    adjectiveB2
  • sensationally
    adverbC1
  • sensationalism
    nounC1
  • sensationalist
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Sensationalize is the most specific of these words: it always implies a media or reporting context and carries strong disapproval. Exaggerate is the broadest — you can exaggerate your height, a danger, or how tired you are. Dramatize can be positive (a play dramatizes real events) and does not automatically imply distortion; sensationalize always does. Overplay is less formal and often applies to strategic emphasis — a politician overplays a success, but you wouldn't say a politician sensationalizes it unless a news outlet reports on it. Inflate emphasises making numbers or importance seem larger (inflate figures, inflate a reputation), whereas sensationalize is about narrative style and emotional impact. Example contrast: a witness may exaggerate what she saw, but a tabloid sensationalizes her account.

exaggerate ↗dramatizeoverplay ↗inflate ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • accused of sensationalizing
  • warn against sensationalizing

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed in English in the late 19th century from the adjective sensational (itself from sensation, meaning 'a strong feeling or widespread interest') plus the verb-forming suffix -ize. The word emerged during the rise of mass-circulation newspapers and 'yellow journalism,' when competing papers used dramatic language to attract readers. Sensation traces back through French and Medieval Latin to Latin sensus ('feeling, perception').

First known use

1863

1863, in the meaning defined above