exaggerated

1 4.1

Made to look bigger or more important than it really is

adjective
/ɪɡˈzædʒəˌreɪtɪd/

: exagerado

Her stories are often exaggerated, making everything sound more dramatic than it really is.

And what we saw was an exaggerated version of that.

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Examples

Everyone's playing exaggerated version of themselves.

GQ
And I said you have to be the most exaggerated version of yourself for a reality show.
And what we saw was an exaggerated version of that.

Rob Moore
It's going to be grungy and exaggerated and bright and crazy.
Again, this is an exaggerated case of total shielding.
It's due to an exaggerated presence of insufficiency.

Chris Williamson
And this was, as I now say, somewhat perhaps exaggerated in hindsight.
So if you look, I'd like to say that's exaggerated, but I know it's not.
They're more exaggerated in flamboyant, I suppose.
"AN EXAGGERATED PERSPECTIVE" in a picture, as the naturalistic photographer assiduously warns.

Academic text (2000)

Synonyms

overblown

vsexaggerated

28 5.7

Exaggerated and showy in style or speech

is the neutral idea of making something seem larger or more important than reality

overinflated

vsexaggerated

1 4.8

Too full of air or seen as more important than it really is

covers the general act of making something seem larger or more important than it is

inflated

vsexaggerated

1 4.9

Looks bigger or more important than it really is

is the simple concept of seeming larger, greater, or more important than true

magnified

vsexaggerated

1 4.0

Made to look larger than normal, often by a lens or by attention

applies to making something seem larger or more important in a general sense

overdone

vsexaggerated

3.9

Made to seem bigger or more important than it really is

is the general act of making something seem larger or more important than it is

overstated

vsexaggerated

4.6

Makes something seem bigger or more important than it really is

is the broader notion of making things seem larger or more important than true

Antonyms

modest

192 3.3

Not large or showy, often simple and limited in amount

understated

27 6.5

Simple and quiet in a way that looks elegant

How Exaggerated

hyperbolic

12 7.5

overblown

28 5.7

exaggerated

1 4.1

overstated

4.6

Surface Forms

exaggerated positive

Morphology

exaggerated = exaggerate (transparent) = exaggerate + ed

A straightforward adjectival past-participle formed from the verb 'exaggerate'; the sense 'made to seem larger or more important' follows directly.

Etymology

Exaggerated comes from Latin parts ex- ('out') and aggerare ('to heap up'), so imagine piling details on top of each other until the story looks bigger. So, something exaggerated is 'made to seem larger or more important than it really is'.