EXAGGERATE

overstate, exaggerate, overdraw, hyperbolize, hyperbolise, magnify, amplify

(verb) to enlarge beyond bounds or the truth; “tended to romanticize and exaggerate this ‘gracious Old South’ imagery”

overdo, exaggerate

(verb) do something to an excessive degree; “He overdid it last night when he did 100 pushups”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Verb

exaggerate (third-person singular simple present exaggerates, present participle exaggerating, simple past and past participle exaggerated)

To overstate, to describe more than is fact.

Synonyms

• big up

• overexaggerate

• overstate

• hyperbolize

Antonyms

• (overstate): belittle, downplay, understate, trivialize

Source: Wiktionary

Ex*ag"ger*ate, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Exaggerated; p. pr. & vb. n. Exaggerating . ] Etym: [L. exaggeratus , p. p. of exaggerare to heap up; ex out + aggerare to heap up, fr. agger heap, aggerere to bring to; ad to + gerere to bear. See Jest. ]

1. To heap up; to accumulate. [Obs.] "Earth exaggerated upon them [oaks and firs]." Sir M. Hale.

2. To amplify; to magnify; to enlarge beyond bounds or the truth ; to delineate extravagantly ; to overstate the truth concerning. A friend exaggerates a man's virtues. Addison.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition