Hyperbole Examples That Make English Interesting and Fun!

Hyperbole, pronounced as “hie-per-buh-lee”, comes from a Greek word that means “excess”. It is a figure of speech that uses exaggeration for emphasis or effect. Hyperbole is often used in everyday speech and writing to:

• To emphasize a point:

“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.”

“I’ve told you a million times not to do that!”

“I’m so tired I could sleep for a year.”

“You’re driving me crazy!”

• To express surprise:

“I can’t believe you did that!”

“I never thought I’d see the day.”

• To express frustration:

“I’ve had it up to here with your nonsense!”

“I’m going to kill you!”

• To express excitement:

“I’m so excited I could burst!”

“This is the best day ever!”

• To express fear or anxiety:

“I’m so scared I could die.”

“I’m so nervous I can’t even speak.”

• To express love or affection:

“I love you so much I could eat you up!”

“I’m so grateful to you, I don’t know what to do.”

Hyperbole Examples from Classic Literature

Classics are full of hyperbole, often used to make a point or create an impact. GoAssignmentHelp assignment writers and tutors are sharing some of the best hyperbole examples from their collections:

Best-known hyperbole examples by William Shakespeare

Shakespeare, the master of wordplay, often used hyperbole to great effect in his plays and poems. Here are some of the best examples:

 

“The brightness of her cheek would shame those stars.

As daylight doth a lamp. Her eye in heaven

Would through the airy region stream so bright

That birds would sing and think it were not night.”

~ Romeo and Juliet

 

“Some that smile have in their hearts I fear

Thorns that prick them as they pass. Some that dart

Poison into those that smile at them.”

~ Hamlet

 

“I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space.”

~ Hamlet

 

“Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.”

~ Macbeth

 

“Adoringly; with copious tears; with groans that thunder out their love; with passionate sighs.”

~ Twelfth Night

Best-known hyperbole examples by Jane Austen

Jane Austen used hyperbole regularly in her writing to create humour and satire. Some of the best examples can be found in her famous work Pride and Prejudice:

 

“From the very beginning, from the first moment I may almost say, of my acquaintance with you, your manners impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others were such as to form that ground-work of disapprobation, on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike; and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.”

“Her manners were pronounced to be very bad indeed, a mixture of pride and impertinence; she had no conversation, no style, no beauty”

 

Other famous hyperbole examples by Jane Austen are:

 

Sir John . . . set off directly for the cottage to tell the Miss Dashwoods of the Miss Steeles’ arrival, and to assure them of their being the sweetest girls in the world. From such commendation as this, however, there was not much to be learned; Elinor well knew that the sweetest girls in the world were to be met within every part of England, under every possible variation of form, face, temper and understanding.

~ Sense and Sensibility

 

“Upon my honour, I never met with so many pleasant girls in my life as I have this evening; and there are several of them you see uncommonly pretty.”

~ Pride and Prejudice

You may also check: How to Use Personification Examples to Bring Your Writing to Life?

Best-known hyperbole examples by Charles Dickens

 

Charles Dickens was another writer who used hyperbole frequently in his work. Here are some of the best examples from his most famous novels:

 

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair,”

~ A Tale of Two Cities

 

Mrs Mann gave him a thousand embraces, and, what Oliver wanted a great deal more, a piece of bread and butter, lest he should seem hungry when he got to the workhouse.

~ Oliver Twist

 

“…a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint…solitary as an oyster. The cold within him froze his old features….He carried his own low temperature always about with him; he iced his office in the dog days, and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas.”

~ A Christmas Carol

Best-known hyperbole examples by George Eliot

George Eliot made extensive use of hyperbole in her work. Some of the best examples can be found in the following passages:

 

“What a very ugly corner of the world it is,” thought Dorothea, looking out of the carriage window at some dingy houses by the roadside. They were let out in small tenements, and in one of them she saw a bill on which was painted “Apartments to Let for Gentlemen and their Wives.”

~ Middlemarch

 

“The house was so old that it seemed as if it must have grown up out of the ground like a great tree, its root system all gnarled and spreading underground.”

~ Silas Marner

 

“The red light burned steadily, never winked or wavered, as do the eyes of those who watch by sick-beds in the night.”

~ The Mill on the Floss

 

“She had that kind of beauty which seems to be thrown into relief by poor dress.”

~ Middlemarch

Best-known hyperbole examples by Mark Twain

Mark Twain, known for his humour and wit, made great use of hyperbole in his writing. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer contains many great hyperbole examples:

 

“He had the look of a man who had drank himself to death from sheer boredom.”

“The marvel was not that Joe Harper swore at all, for that was a common accomplishment at that day and age, but that he could swear so fluently, so ornately, and so impressively without ever seeming to stop for breath.”

“It was the coldest winter that ever was. The thermometer wasn’t built that could stand up under it.”

 

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn has some interesting hyperbole examples too:

 

“I never saw such a long cat. If he was stretched out straight he would measure eleven feet, and his tail was as big around as a stove pipe.”

“My hair stood up on my head, and I couldn’t help it.”

“It was the stillest, sleepiest sounding night that ever was.”

Best-known hyperbole examples by J. K. Rowling

1. K. Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, also makes use of hyperbole. Here are some examples from her books:

 

“It was as though someone had taken a great dung beetle and coated it in every vile substance imaginable.”

~ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

 

“The snow was still falling, thick and fast, as they walked up the path to Hagrid’s house, the light from his lamp shining dimly through the swirling white.”

~ Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

 

“He was trying to remember how many times in the past year he had been told off for losing his temper, or refusing to do something that was asked of him, or generally behaving like a bully.”

~ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

 

Hyperbole is a great way to add emphasis and emotion to your writing and speech. When used effectively, it can make your language more interesting and fun. Just be careful not to overdo it, or your listener or reader may not take you seriously!