Uncle Ned’s Bigger Words: exaggerate

Uncle Ned’s Bigger Words: exaggerate

My first bigger word is “exaggerate”, that’s x-AJ-eh-RATE.

Uncle Ned considered putting this word in category of Bad Words because, technically,* it is a form of lying. We often feel very innocent when exaggerating because we sincerely believe that something is more important or significant than other people suspect. Unfortunately we are most likely lying to ourselves in this respect. If, on the other hand, we are actually quite aware that the thing, whatever it may be, is not actually all that important or significant, then we are simply trying to sound more important than we actually are. If you suspect at this point that Uncle Ned is going on about this at such length in an attempt to sound smarter than he actually is, you are probably correct. But we still need an example:

“Uncle Ned has been known to exaggerate the importance of some words.”

Okay, Uncle Ned is not feeling the least bit insecure right now. He’s just becoming increasingly uncomfortable around his editor.

* You may think you know this word already, but Uncle Ned has decided to add it to Uncle Ned’s Bad Words instead of “exaggerate” because “technically” is often used as another form of lying, or at least of hedging the truth. The sad fact is, that anything which is “technically” something, is actually something else.