If a friend tells you, “It’s raining buckets outside,” you know the person doesn’t mean it literally. We all exaggerate our words at times for dramatic effect.

Even Shakespeare used hyperbole (see definition and hear pronunciation below) frequently throughout his plays. One example is when the lovesick Romeo compares Juliet to the sun, as a way to describe the enormity of his feelings for her.

But this type of exaggeration is most common in our everyday speech, whether we’re carrying a heavy package that “weighs a ton” or we hear a joke that’s so funny we’re simply “dying of laughter.”

These phrases make the point, even though they’re not really accurate!

Cool word vocabulary question of the day: When was the last time you used hyperbole, and how did you do it?

Hyperbole: Obvious and intentional exaggeration.

Click to hear the pronunciation of hyperbole:

https://coolwordclub.com/wp-content/uploads/hyperbole.mp3