the.com/overstatement
Saying more than you mean so people remember half of it.
means A claim or description that exaggerates the truth beyond what the facts actually support.
from Straightforward compound: 'over-' (beyond, in excess) plus 'statement,' from Latin status via 'state,' meaning to set forth or declare. The word simply does what it says — it states, then pushes past the line. English has used 'over-' as an exaggeration-prefix for centuries (overdo, overreach), so 'overstatement' slotted in as the natural noun for rhetoric that outruns reality.
- rhetoric cousin
- hyperbole's business-casual outfit
- opposite move
- litotes, the art of understating
- risk
- credibility shrinks every time you exaggerate
- common habitat
- resumes, breakups, and weather reports