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HYPERBOLE
HYPERBOLE. [Stress: ‘high-PER-bo-ly’]. A term in RHETORIC for exaggeration or overstatement, usually deliberate and not meant to be taken (too) literally: ‘Old Celtic myths have been springing up around these hills and lakes since the very start of time’ ( Tom Davies, ‘Home & Garden’, Times Saturday Review, 18 Aug. 1990). Everyday idioms are often hyperbolic: a flood of tears, loads of room, tons of money, waiting for ages, as old as the hills, having the time of one's life. Their purpose is effect and emphasis, but frequency of use diminishes their impact.
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Cite this article
TOM McARTHUR. "HYPERBOLE." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. TOM McARTHUR. "HYPERBOLE." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-HYPERBOLE.html TOM McARTHUR. "HYPERBOLE." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-HYPERBOLE.html |
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hyperbole
hy·per·bo·le / hīˈpərbəlē/ • n. exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. DERIVATIVES: hy·per·bol·i·cal / ˌhīpərˈbälikəl/ adj. hy·per·bol·i·cal·ly / ˌhīpərˈbälik(ə)lē/ adv. hy·per·bo·lism / -ˌlizəm/ n. |
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"hyperbole." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "hyperbole." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-hyperbole.html "hyperbole." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-hyperbole.html |
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hyperbole
hyperbole , a figure of speech in which exceptional exaggeration is deliberately used for emphasis rather than deception. Andrew Marvell employed hyperbole throughout To His Coy Mistress : An hundred years should go to praise |
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"hyperbole." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "hyperbole." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-hyperbole.html "hyperbole." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2011. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-hyperbole.html |
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hyperbole
hyperbole, the use of exaggerated terms to emphasize the importance or extent of something. Puttenham translated it as ‘the over reacher’. Marlowe was particularly addicted to this figure of speech: e.g. ‘Was this the face that launched a thousand ships? | And burnt the topless towers of Ilium?’ (Dr Faustus).
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Cite this article
MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "hyperbole." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "hyperbole." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-hyperbole.html MARGARET DRABBLE and JENNY STRINGER. "hyperbole." The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 2003. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O54-hyperbole.html |
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hyperbole
hyperbole Rhetorical device in which an obvious exaggeration is used to create an effect without being meant literally, such as “the music is loud enough to wake the dead”.
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"hyperbole." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "hyperbole." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-hyperbole.html "hyperbole." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-hyperbole.html |
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hyperbole
hyperbole
•biyearly, really, yearly
•Beardsley • lawyerly • immediately
•hourly • cowardly • surely • marbly
•pebbly
•neighbourly (US neighborly)
•dribbly, scribbly
•Kimberley
•bobbly, wobbly
•Stromboli
•bubbly, lubberly, rubbly, stubbly
•husbandly • hyperbole
•creaturely, teacherly
•Wycherley • elderly
•fiddly, twiddly
•orderly • puddly
•Offaly, waffly
•snuffly
•straggly, waggly
•spangly • laggardly • beggarly
•jiggly, squiggly, wiggly, wriggly
•niggardly • sluggardly • leisurely
•gingerly • soldierly • curmudgeonly
•rascally • treacly • tickly • broccoli
•knuckly • melancholy • sailorly
•scholarly • gentlemanly • seamanly
•anomaly • yeomanly • womanly
•mannerly • panoply • Connolly
•Gallipoli, ripply, tripoli
•dimply
•monopoly, oligopoly
•rumply • purply • matronly
•squirrelly • scoundrelly • Thessaly
•thistly • tinselly • muscly
•Natalie, philately, rattly
•dastardly
•headmasterly, masterly
•schoolmasterly • westerly • painterly
•easterly • Italy • winterly
•sisterly, systole
•writerly • doctorly • quarterly
•fatherly • grandfatherly • weatherly
•northerly
•brotherly, motherly, southerly
•grandmotherly • gravelly • Beverley
•weaselly • frizzly • wizardly • miserly
•Rosalie
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Cite this article
"hyperbole." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 26 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "hyperbole." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 26, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-hyperbole.html "hyperbole." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 26, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-hyperbole.html |
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