hyperbolize
hyperbolize — 動詞
- hyperbolizepresent simple I / you / we / they
- hyperbolizes3rd person singular
- hyperbolizing-ing form
- hyperbolizedpast simple
1. to talk or write in a way that makes things sound far more extreme than they act
誇大其詞
故意誇張地表達
to talk or write in a way that makes things sound far more extreme than they actually are, often to make a point more striking or memorable.
The senator tends to hyperbolize during campaign speeches, calling every minor policy change a revolutionary breakthrough.
那位參議員在競選演說中總是誇大其詞，把每一項微小的政策調整都稱為革命性的突破。
intransitive: hyperbolize + 'during/about'
Nadia knows her uncle loves to hyperbolize, so she never fully believes his stories about the fish he caught.
Nadia 知道她的叔叔喜歡誇大其詞，所以她從來不會完全相信他講的那些釣魚故事。
intransitive: 'loves to hyperbolize'
When describing the hike, Reuben would always hyperbolize, claiming the trail was steeper than a vertical wall.
在描述那次健行時，Reuben 總是誇大其詞，聲稱那條小徑比垂直的牆壁還要陡峭。
Astrid warned the children not to hyperbolize when telling their father what happened to the broken vase.
Astrid 警告孩子們在告訴父親花瓶摔破的經過時不要誇大其詞。
- exaggerate
far more common; hyperbolize is a formal, less frequent synonym
- overstate
focuses on claiming something is greater than it is, similar to hyperbolize but less rhetorical
- understate
to describe something as less important than it really is
文法句型
hyperbolize (no object)
hyperbolize about [topic]
用法筆記
This intransitive sense is the more common and older use of the word. The subject is always a person or group, and the action is describing things with deliberate exaggeration for effect.
常見錯誤
2. to describe a specific thing or situation as being far greater, larger, worse, o
過度誇張
將事物描述得遠超實際
to describe a specific thing or situation as being far greater, larger, worse, or more intense than it really is, going well past the bounds of truth.
The advertisement hyperbolized the benefits of the face cream, promising it would erase every wrinkle overnight.
那則廣告過度誇張了面霜的功效，宣稱它能在一個晚上抹平所有皺紋。
transitive: hyperbolized + [the benefits]
Salma hyperbolized the difficulty of the exam so much that her classmates spent the whole week in a panic.
Salma 把考試的難度過度誇張，導致她的同學們整個星期都處於恐慌之中。
transitive: hyperbolized + [the difficulty]
Critics accused the journalist of hyperbolizing the dangers of the new technology to sell more newspapers.
評論家指責那名記者為了多賣報紙而過度誇張新科技的危險性。
The review hyperbolized the restaurant's flaws, calling one cold appetizer the worst meal in the city's history.
那篇評論過度誇張了那家餐廳的缺點，把一道冷掉的開胃菜說成是本市史上最難吃的一餐。
- exaggerate
the common everyday word; hyperbolize is far more formal and rare
- overstate
similar in meaning but less intense and more neutral in tone
- magnify
can also mean 'make bigger'; overstate and hyperbolize are specifically about false representation
- understate
to represent as less than the truth
文法句型
hyperbolize + [noun phrase]
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1: this sense takes a direct object (what is exaggerated), while sense 1 has no object. The transitive form is extremely rare in everyday English; most speakers use the intransitive pattern or simply use 'exaggerate'.