exaggerate

/ɛɡˈzæd͡ʒ.ə.ɹeɪt/

//ɛɡˈzæd͡ʒ.ə.ɹeɪt// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"exaggerate" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“exaggerate” has 12 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,664. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,664
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
12
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To overstate, to describe more than the fact.

Corpus desk

Index EN-exaggerate · exaggerate · English

exaggerate · rank #22,664 · 12 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #22,664
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-MID 12 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH evo

Nearest frequency peer: evo (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “exaggerate”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “exaggerate” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

exaggerate vs exaggerated
91% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for exaggerate
PropertyValue
Headwordexaggerate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɛɡˈzæd͡ʒ.ə.ɹeɪt/
Letters10
Frequency rank#22,664
Misspellings tracked12
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “exaggerate”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).exaggeratelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “evo” (#22,663), “exaggerating” (#22,665), “epoch” (#22,662). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “exaggerate” is #22,664. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 12 spelling variants around exaggerate (IPA /ɛɡˈzæd͡ʒ.ə.ɹeɪt/), averb. Corpus frequency is #22,664 among 2,246 “E” headwords. Dominant gloss: "To overstate, to describe more than the fact.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 12 likely wrong-spelling variants for exaggerate, with forms such as "eaxggerate", "exagegrate", and "exagerate". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "exaggerated", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Latin exaggerātus, perfect passive participle of exaggerō (“to heap up, increase, enlarge, magnify, amplify, exaggerate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ex- (“out, up”) + aggerō, aggerāre (“to heap u… The correct English form is exaggerate, spelled E-X-A-G-G-E-R-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To overstate, to describe more than the fact.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how exaggerate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. I've told you a billion times not to exaggerate!
  2. He said he’d slept with hundreds of girls, but I know he’s exaggerating. The real number is about ten.

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin exaggerātus, perfect passive participle of exaggerō (“to heap up, increase, enlarge, magnify, amplify, exaggerate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ex- (“out, up”) + aggerō, aggerāre (“to heap up”), from agger (“a pile, heap, mound, dike, mole, pier, etc.”), from aggerō, aggerere (“to bear, carry to (some place), bring together”), from ad- (“to, toward”) + gerō (“to carry”).

Synonyms

big upcut it fatexaggeratehyperbolizeoverchargeoverdooveremphasizeoverstateplay upstretchthree-sheet

Antonyms

trivialize

This word in other languages

exagerar(Español)exagérer(Français)übertreiben(Deutsch)exagerar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eaxggerate
  • exagegrate
  • exagerate
  • exaggearte
  • exaggeraet
  • exaggeratte
  • exaggerrate
  • exaggertae
  • exaggreate
  • exgagerate
  • exxaggerate
  • xeaggerate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of exaggerate - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

eaxggerate2exagegrate2exagerate1exaggearte2exaggeraet2exaggeratte1exaggerrate1exaggertae2
Edit distance from "exaggerate"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "exaggerate"?
"exaggerate" is spelled E-X-A-G-G-E-R-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɛɡˈzæd͡ʒ.ə.ɹeɪt/.
What does "exaggerate" mean?
As a verb, "exaggerate" means: To overstate, to describe more than the fact.
What words are commonly confused with "exaggerate"?
"exaggerate" is commonly confused with "exaggerated". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "exaggerate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "exaggerate" is /ɛɡˈzæd͡ʒ.ə.ɹeɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "exaggerate"?
Borrowed from Latin exaggerātus, perfect passive participle of exaggerō (“to heap up, increase, enlarge, magnify, amplify, exaggerate”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix)), from ex- (“out, up”) + aggerō, aggerāre (... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "exaggerate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

disclosing#22,648glittering#22,690groundwork#22,696counteract#22,630

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (12 here; floor ≥5).

entourage12 variantsfibrosis12 variantsGermanic12 variantsGlendale12 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list