35. Hyperbole

If we had a dollar for every time we'd heard this word mispronounced, then we'd probably have a couple of hundred. You might have expected us to say a few thousand, but if we did, we'd be guilty of hyperbole - massive overstatement or exaggeration. Did you like what we did there?

Despite the way it's spelled and how we're used to pronouncing words that contain "bole", there isn't a "bowl" sound in there. This word shouldn't be pronounced "high-per-bowl", like it's an even grander version of the Superbowl. Owing to the fact that it has Greek origins, when someone gives dramatic levels of hype to a person or event, they're actually creating "high-per-ba-lee", where the ending of the word rhymes with "Sally". Definitely write this one down - you'll end up using it a lot now.

NEXT


Copyright © 2026 CultureHook