hyperbole
/haɪˈpɜːbəli/
"hyperbole" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“hyperbole” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #31,608 in English word frequency and used as a noun.
- #31,608
- frequency rank, English
- 9
- letters
- 14
- tracked misspellings
- 1
- confusable pair
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Deliberate or unintentional overstatement, particularly extreme overstatement.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hyperbole |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /haɪˈpɜːbəli/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Frequency rank | #31,608 |
| Misspellings tracked | 14 |
| Confusable pairs | 1 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “hyperbole” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for hyperbole is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /haɪˈpɜːbəli/. Corpus data places it at rank #31,608 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for hyperbole, with forms such as "hhyperbole", "hpyerbole", and "hyeprbole". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "hyperbolic", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English iperbole, yperbole, from Latin hyperbolē, from Ancient Greek ὑπερβολή (huperbolḗ, “excess, exaggeration”), from ὑπέρ (hupér, “above”) + βάλλω (bállō, “I throw”, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH-). Doublet of hyperbola. The correct English form is hyperbole, spelled H-Y-P-E-R-B-O-L-E.
Definition
- 1Deliberate or unintentional overstatement, particularly extreme overstatement.
- 2An instance or example of such overstatement.
- 3A hyperbola.
Etymology
From Middle English iperbole, yperbole, from Latin hyperbolē, from Ancient Greek ὑπερβολή (huperbolḗ, “excess, exaggeration”), from ὑπέρ (hupér, “above”) + βάλλω (bállō, “I throw”, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH-). Doublet of hyperbola.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hhyperbole,hpyerbole,hyeprbole,hypebrole,hyperbbole,hyperbloe,hyperboel,hyperbolle,hyperoble,hyperrbole,hypperbole,hyprebole,hyyperbole,yhperbole
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hyperbole - 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.
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 "hyperbole"?
What does "hyperbole" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "hyperbole"?
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Using “hyperbole”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is H-Y-P-E-R-B-O-L-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /haɪˈpɜːbəli/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “hyperbolic” - see the side-by-side comparison. hyperbole vs hyperbolic
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.