exaggerating

verb

present participle of exaggerate
1
as in padding
to add to the interest of by including made-up details the American colonist John Smith is believed by many historians to have exaggerated his adventures

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in overstating
to describe or express in too strong terms it would be impossible to exaggerate the importance of this entrance exam

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of exaggerating Attorneys who represent officers that have sued the department over whistleblower retaliation dismiss the claim by Chief Jim McDonnell and others that some cops are exaggerating their claims in pursuit of a big payday. — Sean Greene, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026 The South Korean military, which often accuses North Korea of exaggerating its military capabilities, did not immediately comment on Kim's claims. — Arkansas Online, 4 Oct. 2026 Accusers were exaggerating or lying outright in pursuit of a payday. — Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2026 The hiring trust crisis is usually described as candidates exaggerating, the part background screening is built to catch. — Houman Akhavan, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026 The financial affiliations have prompted speculation, especially through strands of the Iranian diaspora, who accuse some of its journalists of exaggerating the level of support for figures in the opposition and of advocating for war. — Cora Engelbrecht, New Yorker, 24 Aug. 2026 Thomas cautioned against exaggerating the power of AI agents, however. — Reuters, NBC news, 13 Aug. 2026 Washington has a history of exaggerating the competitive threat from rivals, whether that was the Soviet Union or Japan. — Andy Browne, semafor.com, 11 Aug. 2026 Kennedy has also sought to personally reform the agency’s vaccine policy, firing all 17 of its vaccine advisers and replacing them with his own picks, many of whom have questioned the benefit of vaccines while exaggerating their harms. — Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for exaggerating
  1. padding
  2. overstating
  3. coloring
  4. overdoing
  5. enhancing
  6. stretching
  7. hyperbolizing
  8. expanding
Verb
  • Trump won the area in 2020 by 2 points before padding his victory to 9 points in 2024.
    — Naomi Lim, The Washington Examiner, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The Ravens swung a surprise trade Wednesday for Eagles center Cam Jurgens, padding their interior offensive line after injuries to Jovaughn Gwyn and Ethan Pocic.
    — Matt Weyrich, Baltimore Sun, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of padding
Verb
  • As a result, one lead record can understate the number of people involved while overstating the value of a single trackable interaction.
    — David Steifman, Forbes.com, 24 Sep. 2026
  • Experts, however, question how widespread the fraud in the program is — and whether the administration is overstating its role in the ACA’s enrollment increases.
    — Berkeley Lovelace Jr, NBC news, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of overstating
Verb
  • The team revised Rotta’s face and coloring to bring him closer to Jabba while refining his muscular physique.
    — Davide Abbatescianni, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
  • But this sonic direction can also prevent Mud from coloring outside the lines.
    — Enzo Escober, Pitchfork, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of coloring
Verb
  • One of her concerns is layering products, which can easily lead to overdoing it on the actives.
    — Korin Miller, Allure, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Experts say to avoid washing darks with linty fabrics, overdoing the detergent and using the heavy-duty wash cycle, among other tips.
    — Jolie Kerr, Washington Post, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of overdoing
Verb
  • Among the felony charges Textor faces are five counts of fraud against a financial institution, 13 counts of forgery, two counts of counterfeiting, five counts of fraud and seven counts of fraud with enhancing circumstances.
    — Sara Tenenbaum, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Despite this, national reports indicate continued use of performance- and appearance-enhancing drugs, and increasing interest in them.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of enhancing
Verb
  • Erected on a hillside in 1938, Fallingwater appeared as a matrix of rectangles with low and flat horizontal lines stretching across the planes of the house.
    — Wendy S. Walters, Architectural Digest, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Blue crabs and crawfish are sourced from Louisiana, while shellfish such as oysters, Manila clams and cherrystone clams arrive from waters stretching from the East Coast to Asia.
    — Sara Rosenthal, Denver Post, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of stretching
Verb
  • Gauthier was hyperbolizing, but his statement looked true Monday.
    — Peter Baugh, New York Times, 10 Mar. 2026
Definition of hyperbolizing
Verb
  • That law included provisions dramatically expanding the scope of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Altogether, Google is expanding automatic tracking support to cover more than 100 different exercises and sports, up from 10 previously.
    — Andrew Gebhart, PC Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of expanding

Browse Nearby Words

exaggerates
exaggerating
exaggeration
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Cite this Entry

“Exaggerating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/exaggerating. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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