Hi everybody, this is Mr Duncan in England.
How are you today?
Are you OK?
I hope so.
Are you happy?
I hope so.
Today we will take a look at something we all do from time to time, especially when we are trying to impress someone for effect.
In this lesson I will talk about exaggerate and exaggeration.
The word exaggeration is a noun that names the action of overstating something.
That is to say that a person says something to make a thing or occurrence much better or much worse than it actually was.
To overstate an event as being better than it was or much worse than it actually felt is an exaggeration.
The verb form of exaggeration is exaggerate.
You exaggerate something.
So when you exaggerate something, you are making an exaggeration.
The adverb form is exaggeratedly.
A person who exaggerates is exaggerating.
A statement that represents something that is better or worse than it really is can be described as an exaggeration.
Let's take a look at some simple examples of exaggeration.
Exaggeration example number one.
You went fishing last week, but all you caught was a tiny fish that no one would be impressed with.
So, when you tell your friends about the fishing trip, you tell them that, after struggling and pulling at the line for what seemed like ages, you caught a huge fish.
It was this big.
Of course, you are exaggerating the story.
The fish was nothing more than a tiddler.
Exaggeration example number two.
You had a slight cold for a couple of days, which led you to take some time off work.
After returning to work, you explained to your work colleagues that you were so ill you felt really ill.
unwell.
You thought you were going to die.
Of course you are exaggerating the story so as to get sympathy from your work friends.
You have embellished the story.
It is an exaggeration of the truth.
Exaggeration example number three.
You get accidentally struck by a car whilst crossing the road.
The incident is a minor one, but you pretend to be hurt much more than is real.
You exaggerate your injuries so as to get more sympathy and perhaps even more money from the car driver's insurance.
You are play-acting.
You are making the situation seem worse than it really is.
You are exaggerating the outcome of the accident.
We often exaggerate so as to appear better
than we really are, or much worse off than is true.
An exaggeration is an inaccurate depiction of what occurred.
To exaggerate is to blow something out of proportion.
So, a little rain becomes a monsoon.
A small cough or fever becomes a serious illness.
A minor injury becomes a life-threatening wound.
A small moment of inconvenience becomes a terrible situation.
Sometimes it is easy to exaggerate an occurrence or personal experience for effect.
We might exaggerate our reaction to something for effect.
The bigger the reaction, the more dramatic the moment appears.
This particular form of exaggeration is common now on TV.
Reality television encourages those taking part to overblow or overreact to something for the cameras.
It is done for effect to keep the audience watching.
Another example of exaggeration occurs when we describe our appearance or how a certain part of our body appears.
Men will often exaggerate the size of a certain part of their body.
Yes, really, it's this big.
Sadly, that is an exaggeration.
In reality, it is only this big.
There are many ways of describing the act of exaggerating something.
You embellish something.
You blow something out of proportion.
You overstate something.
You overplay something.
To make a bad thing seem worse than it really is can be described as making a mountain out of a molehill.
You lay it on thick.
You magnify the details of the situation.
To over-dramatise is to exaggerate.
A person who is doing the exaggerating might be described as being melodramatic.
To sensationalise something is to exaggerate it.
Advertisements often exaggerate reality so as to add value to a product.
Some might say that we now live in a world where exaggeration has become the new normal.
What do you think?
Of course we all exaggerate from time to time.
Sometimes we do it for sympathy, sometimes for glory, and sometimes because it makes us feel in control.
It would be fair to say that it is easy to get carried away whilst describing something.
Sometimes exaggeration comes very easily.
The opposite of exaggerate is understate.
To play down or minimise something is the opposite of exaggerate.
In its original use, the word exaggerate meant pile up or make into a heap.
I don't know about you, but I think today's English lesson was the best ever in the history of the universe.
It was amazing, fantastic, unbelievable.
Okay, perhaps I was exaggerating a little bit there.
That is all from me for today.
I will see you all soon for another lesson right here on YouTube.
This is Mr Duncan in the birthplace of English saying, stay happy and of course, ta-ta for now.