-(ˌ)lē noun
( -s )
Etymology: Latin, from Greek hyperbolē hyperbole, excess, extravagance, from hyperballein to exceed, from hyper- + ballein to cast, throw — more at devil
: extravagant exaggeration that represents something as much greater or less, better or worse, or more intense than it really is or that depicts the impossible as actual (as “mile-high ice-cream cones”) — opposed to litotes