{
    "term": "exaggerate",
    "partOfSpeech": "verb",
    "ox5000": true,
    "cefr": "c1",
    "verbForms": {
        "presentSimple": {
            "iYouWeThey": "exaggerate",
            "heSheIt": "exaggerates"
        },
        "pastSimple": "exaggerated",
        "pastParticiple": "exaggerated",
        "ingForm": "exaggerating"
    },
    "definitions": [
        {
            "senseNumber": null,
            "definition": "to make something seem larger, better, worse or more important than it really is",
            "sensetop": "exaggerate something",
            "examples": [
                {
                    "text": "The hotel was really filthy and I'm not exaggerating."
                },
                {
                    "text": "He tends to exaggerate the difficulties.",
                    "contextForm": "exaggerate something"
                },
                {
                    "text": "I'm sure he exaggerates his Irish accent *(= tries to sound more Irish than he really is)*."
                },
                {
                    "text": "Demand for the product has been greatly exaggerated."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The media has exaggerated the extent of this problem."
                },
                {
                    "text": "The historical significance of these events can be easily exaggerated."
                }
            ],
            "collocations": {
                "adverb": ["greatly", "grossly", "vastly"],
                "verb + exaggerate": ["tend to", "be easy to", "be difficult to"],
                "phrases": ["highly exaggerated"]
            }
        }
    ],
    "pronunciations": {
        "uk": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɪɡˈzædʒəreɪt/",
                "audio": "ex/exaggerate/exaggerate__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɪɡˈzædʒəreɪts/",
                "audio": "ex/exaggerate/exaggerates__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɪɡˈzædʒəreɪtɪd/",
                "audio": "ex/exaggerate/exaggerated__gb_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɪɡˈzædʒəreɪtɪŋ/",
                "audio": "ex/exaggerate/exaggerating__gb_1.mp3"
            }
        ],
        "us": [
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɪɡˈzædʒəreɪt/",
                "audio": "ex/exaggerate/exaggerate__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɪɡˈzædʒəreɪts/",
                "audio": "ex/exaggerate/exaggerates__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɪɡˈzædʒəreɪtɪd/",
                "audio": "ex/exaggerate/exaggerated__us_1.mp3"
            },
            {
                "pronunciation": "/ɪɡˈzædʒəreɪtɪŋ/",
                "audio": "ex/exaggerate/exaggerating__us_1.mp3"
            }
        ]
    },
    "wordOrigin": "mid 16th cent.: from Latin exaggerat- ‘heaped up’, from the verb exaggerare, from ex- ‘thoroughly’ + aggerare ‘heap up’ (from agger ‘heap’). The word originally meant ‘pile up, accumulate’, later ‘increase praise or blame’, giving rise to current senses."
}