What's the difference between exaggeration and hyperbole?

Exaggeration simply means going over the top. An example is when you are waiting for your friend, and you've been waiting 5 minutes, but you say to him: 'I've been waiting for like half an hour!'

Hyperbole means UNREALISTIC exaggeration. That's the keyword. 'I've been waiting 5 years for you, where've you been???'

'This tree is as tall as a church' might simply be exaggeration, but that other tree being as tall as the moon, is definitely UNREALISTIC enough to be called hyperbole!

Answered by Ahsan A. English tutor

55707 Views

See similar English GCSE tutors

Related English GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Discuss Yeats’ presentation of his disappointment in Ireland in ‘The Fisherman’


Explore the descriptive use of colour by Steinbeck in order to portray Curley's wife


How do you prepare for and answer a comparitive unseen poetry question?


When tackling a piece of unseen poetry , where do I start?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo
Cookie Preferences