hyperbolic
/ˌhaɪ.pɚˈbɔl.ɪk/adjective
hyperbolic is spelled H-Y-P-E-R-B-O-L-I-C: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, hyperbolic means “Of or relating to hyperbole” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in hyperbolic?
| Letters | 10: H-Y-P-E-R-B-O-L-I-C |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.4 times per million words; the 23,835th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is hyperbolic?
Hyperbolic appears 1.4 times per million words in written English, the 23,835th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hyperbolic?
- US /ˌhaɪ.pɚˈbɔl.ɪk/
Hyperbolic has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-hyperbolic.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with hyperbolic?
2 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as hyperbolic from its last stressed vowel (/ɔlɪk/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of hyperbolic
- more hyperbolic comparative
- most hyperbolic superlative
- hyperbolical
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hyperbolic mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or relating to hyperbole.
- 2
Using hyperbole: exaggerated.
- 3
Of a perceived color, having a saturation exceeding 100%.
- 4
Of or pertaining to a hyperbola.
In this configuration the on-axis image is produced at the real hyperbolic focus (fₛ₂) but off-axis performance suffers.
- 5
Indicates that the specified function is a hyperbolic function rather than a trigonometric function.
The hyperbolic cosine of zero is one.
- 6
Having negative curvature or sectional curvature.
There is a universal constant m_0>0 such that every hyperbolic surface R has an embedded hyperbolic disk with radius greater than m_0.
- 7
Whose domain has two (possibly ideal) fixed points joined by a line mapped to itself by translation.
A hyperbolic isometry f has two (distinct) fixed points on ∂ℋ.
- 8
Of, pertaining to, or in a hyperbolic space (a space having negative curvature or sectional curvature).
Exactly one hypercycle is a hyperbolic geodesic, and this is called the axis A_f of f.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hyperbolic in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense exaggerated:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | hyperbolique |
| German | hyperbolisch, übertrieben |
| Portuguese | hiperbólico |
| Spanish | hiperbólico |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hyperbolic come from?
From Latin hyperbolic(us), from Ancient Greek ὑπερβολικός (huperbolikós). First attested in the 15th century. By surface analysis, hyperbol(e) + -ic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).