Extreme exaggeration used for emphasis, humor, or emotional effect - not meant to be taken literally.
Hyperbole is deliberate, obvious exaggeration. When you say 'I have told you a million times' or 'my backpack weighs a ton,' you are using hyperbole. Nobody thinks you literally mean a million or a ton. The exaggeration is the point - it communicates intensity of feeling in a way that literal language cannot. In fiction, hyperbole can reveal character, create humor, or punch up emotional moments.
Hyperbole is everywhere in how people actually talk, which makes it essential for authentic dialogue and character voice. A character who says 'I would literally die for a pizza right now' tells you something different about themselves than one who says 'I am quite hungry.' Beyond dialogue, strategic hyperbole in narration can make descriptions more vivid and memorable. The key is knowing when exaggeration serves the moment and when precision serves it better.
Adams built an entire comedic style around hyperbole. The Total Perspective Vortex, which shows you the entire infinite universe and your tiny place in it, is hyperbole turned into a plot device.
Romeo is a walking hyperbole machine. 'Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.' He just met her.
Bernadette's emails are packed with hyperbole that reveals her sharp intelligence and barely contained contempt for Seattle suburban life.
In dramatic scenes, unintentional exaggeration can read as melodrama. If a character's heart 'shattered into a billion pieces,' the reader might laugh instead of cry. Match your level of exaggeration to the tone you want.
Different characters should exaggerate differently based on their personality. A poet and a mechanic will use very different types of exaggeration.
If everything is described in extreme terms, nothing feels extreme anymore. Use hyperbole sparingly so that when you deploy it, the exaggeration actually lands.
Write a monologue from a character who exaggerates everything - a date that was 'the worst night in human history,' a sandwich that was 'transcendent.' Keep it to 400 words and make the hyperbole reveal whether this character is funny, exhausting, anxious, or endearing. Then write the same events as described by a character who understates everything, and compare the two voices.