| 释义 |
exaggeration|ɛgˌzædʒəˈreɪʃən|
[ad. L. exaggerātiōn-em, n. of action f. exaggerā-re: see exaggerate.]
†1. The action of heaping or piling up; e.g. of silt by a river or the sea; also concr. that which is so piled up. Obs.
1677Hale Prim. Orig. Man. ii. ix. 221 Lakes grow by the exaggeration of Sand by the Sea. Ibid. ii. xii. 241 The fruitfullest part of Egypt..is an Exaggeration, or Ground gained by the Inundation of Nilus.
†2. The action of emphasizing or dwelling on the greatness of (a good or bad quality or action).
1586A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1599) 93 In this exaggeration of vices, so also might there bee the like of Vertues, as if one should exhort a man to Pietie after hee had set forth all the commodities thereof. 1611Bp. Andrewes Serm. II. 277 Of Himself it is said, and by way of exaggeration, He humbled Himself to death, the death of the Cross. c1647Boyle Agst. Swearing Wks. (1772) VI. 11 They swear not but when they are angry; and then (for all our clamours and exaggerations) they mean no harm at all. a1745Swift (J.), Exaggeration of the prodigious condescensions in the prince to pass good laws, would have an odd sound at Westminster.
3. The action of exaggerating or magnifying unduly in words or representation. Also, an instance of this; an exaggerated statement.
1565Jewel Repl. Harding 88 Which [smal] companies he [Chrysostome]..by an exaggeration..calleth Nobody. 1685Gracian's Courtiers Orac. 35 Exaggeration is a kind of lying: by Exaggeration one gets himself the reputation of a man of bad discerning. 1776Gibbon Decl. & F. I. xvii. 442 Such exaggerations will be reduced to their just value. 1848W. H. Bartlett Egypt to Pal. xxiv. (1879) 489 If we were to accept the account of Josephus as not an utterly baseless exaggeration. 1878Huxley Physiogr. 177 The exaggeration of the vertical height in the diagram.
b. transf. in Painting and Sculpture: A heightened representation of a subject either in design or by excessive colouring.
1734in Builder's Dict. s.v. 1738Chambers Cycl. s.v., This exaggeration must be conducted in such manner, as not to put the objects out of their natural characters. 1828in Webster; and in mod. Dicts.
c. concr. An exaggerated copy.
1841–4Emerson Ess., Spir. Laws Wks. (Bohn) I. 63 Hideous dreams are exaggerations of the sins of the day. 1872Baker Nile Tribut. viii. 131 The eye of this animal is the most beautiful exaggeration of that of the gazelle.
4. Aggravation of a condition, etc.; also concr.
1661Cowley O. Cromwell (1669) 70 The diligence of wicked persons..is only an Emphasis and Exaggeration of their wickedness. |