Exaggerating

Exaggeration is a representation of something in an excessive manner. The exaggerator has been a familiar figure in Western culture since at least Aristotle's discussion of the alazon: 'the boaster is regarded as one who pretends to have distinguished qualities which he possesses either not at all or to a lesser degree than he pretends...exaggerating'.

It is the opposite of minimisation.

Words or expressions associated with exaggeration include:

Contexts of exaggeration include:

The boasting and bragging by arrogant or manipulative people has been sent up on stage since the first appearance of the alazon – 'a stock character in Greek comedy'. Inflated praise in the form of flattery and puffery has a similarly lengthy history.

Amplifying achievements, obstacles and problems to seek attention is an everyday occurrence, as 'in exaggerating what one feels by magnifying the emotional expression: this is the ploy used by the six-year-old who dramatically twists her face into a pathetic frown, lips quivering, as she runs to complain to her mother about being teased'.

Exaggerating is also a type of deception, as well as a means of malingering – magnifying small injuries or discomforts as an excuse to avoid responsibilities.

Character assassination typically involves deliberate exaggeration or manipulation of facts.

Cognitive behavioral therapy views magnification (as opposed to minimization) as unconscious, unrealistic mental processing or cognitive distortion, which can take the form of probability overestimation or of catastrophizing. This is better known as 'making a big deal out of nothing.' 'Whereas probability overestimation refers to exaggerating the "likelihood" of an event, catastrophizing refers to exaggerating the "importance" of the event'. Closely related 'is overgeneralizing, where one takes a single negative event and see it as a never-ending pattern of defeat'.

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