Hyperbole: Definition and Examples

When you were growing up, your parents probably taught you not to exaggerate. But did you know that deliberately exaggerating things is a literary device that can heighten the effect of your message?

Hyperbole is a literary device or figure of speech that exaggerates an idea in an obviously unrealistic way. It may not be literally true, but its object is to add emphasis. In literature and public speaking, communicators use hyperbole to create a comic, ironic, or serious effect.

Examples of Hyperbole in Daily Conversation

You can use hyperbole in daily conversation when you wish to make something look more important or dramatic than it really is. This distortion and exaggeration helps to emphasize your point, express strong emotion, or stir up humor. Note that many hyperboles also contain similes.

For example, you’ve probably heard or used the following hyperbole:

He’s so hungry he could eat a horse!
This bag weighs a ton—it seems she packed everything but the kitchen sink.
I would die to get a taste of that cake.
That puppy is the cutest thing on earth.
She’s so exhausted she could sleep for a week.
I love you to the moon and back.
I’m dying of embarrassment!
I haven’t seen you in a million years!
He can’t get off work on time, he’s buried under a mountain of tasks.
He’s as old as the hills.
She’s as skinny as a toothpick.
He has brains the size of a pea.

Hyperbole in Advertising

If there’s one place you’re most likely to encounter hyperboles, it’s in the field of advertising. This can include both the text and visual elements used to attract audiences.

Advertising is really all about convincing people of the benefits of a product or service. Sometimes, the use of hyperbole can grab customer attention and infuse a little harmless humor. Other times, companies may cross the line by actually misleading people with their product claims.

Example #1. Red Bull

Red Bull’s slogan, “Red Bull gives you wings,” is clearly using hyperbole to exaggerate the energy-boosting effects of the drink. Unfortunately for the company, it was sued in 2014 for this slogan, ultimately settling the case by shelling out $13 million. A hefty price to pay for a little exaggeration, huh?

Example #2. John Frieda’s Brilliant Brunette Shampoo

The ad for this product promises the shampoo will add “amazing luster for infinite, mirror-like shine.” This is clearly an exaggeration, but helps sell the product to customers.

Example #3. No One Grows Ketchup Like Heinz

In this ad, Heinz uses a visual hyperbole to convey the freshness of its ketchup. This clever use of images comes with an exaggerated text that says, “No One Grows Ketchup Like Heinz.” The ad is also very memorable.

Examples of Hyperbole in Literature

Many writers use hyperbole effectively to exaggerate a character’s traits, convey an idea or theme, or even spice up the tone of writing. Using hyperbole also helps an author stir up readers’ suspicion, especially when the author wants the reader to question the reliability of a narrator, reflect on the author’s true intention, or simply to get a taste of humor.

Take a look at some of these examples of hyperbole in literature:

Example #1. “The Unfortunate Lover” by Andrew Marvell

The sea him lent those bitter tears
Which at his eyes he always wears;
And from the winds the sighs he bore,
Which through his surging breast do roar.
No day he saw but that which breaks
Through frighted clouds in forkèd streaks,
While round the rattling thunder hurled,
As at the funeral of the world.

In this excerpt from the poem, Andrew Marvell exaggerates the effects of losing a lover, for example, describing it as always wearing bitter tears, and connecting it with the “funeral of the world.” It also ties in with the common hyperbolic statement, “It’s the end of the world,” usually used by someone in similar dire states.

**Example #2. Viking Tales by Jeannie Hall**

Now when Harald was ten years old his father, King Halfdan, died. An old book that tells about Harald says that then “he was the biggest of all men, the strongest, and the fairest to look upon.” That about a boy ten years old! But boys grew fast in those days for they were out of doors all the time, running, swimming, leaping on skees, and hunting in the forest. All that makes big, manly boys.

In this book, Jeannie Hall uses quotes to describe Harald as the biggest, strongest, and fairest of all men, indicating that this may have been a common description for the folk tales her book was based upon. Indeed, folk tales use a lot of hyperbole, especially when describing heroes and heroines.

**Example #3. Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox by Jan Gleiter**

“Well now, one winter it was so cold that all the geese flew backward and all the fish moved south and even the snow turned blue. Late at night, it got so frigid that all spoken words froze solid afore they could be heard. People had to wait until sunup to find out what folks were talking about the night before.”

Tall tales are tales that are untrue. But even so, in these opening remarks, the author uses hyperbole and comic imagery to make their point about how cold it was.

**Example #4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee**

A day was twenty-four hours long but seemed longer. There was no hurry, for there was nowhere to go, nothing to buy and no money to buy it with, nothing to see outside the boundaries of Maycomb County.

This is an example of negative hyperbole, where the author exaggerates the absence, instead of the presence of things.

Difference Between Hyperbole and Overstatement

Although hyperbole and overstatement can sometimes be interchangeable, they have slight differences.

For one, overstatement is used for exaggerating an idea but within reasonable bounds. In contrast, hyperbole also exaggerates but tends to be less possible, making it clearly a non-literal description.

For example:

He ran faster than the wind – is a hyperbole because it’s impossible to run faster than the wind, but

He ran as though his life depended on it – is an overstatement, because it’s an exaggeration but still within the realm of possibility.

Using Hyperbole in Writing

Based on the examples above, you can see how using hyperbole can add color to your writing. Start by learning some of the most common expressions and practice using them in your writing. After that, you can try experimenting with your own exaggerated statements.

Also, take time to learn about the other literary devices that can make your writing come alive for your readers!

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