overstated

Everyday

1. Said to be bigger, more important or worse than it really is; exaggerated. tree →
2. verb: Said something in a way that made it seem bigger or more important than it truly was. tree →

In the lessons

In the news, science and history, "the danger was overstated" means it was not as big as people said. In persuasive writing pupils learn that overstated claims weaken an argument. Common phrase: "cannot be overstated" means something is extremely important: "The importance of sleep cannot be overstated."

Examples

• The danger from the spider was overstated; it is harmless. tree →
• He overstated how many goals he scored. tree →
• The importance of washing your hands cannot be overstated. tree →
• The advert overstated how fast the toy car could go. tree →
• Reports of the storm damage were overstated. tree →
• She admitted she had overstated the problem. tree →

Note

Regular verb: overstate, overstated. Opposite: understated, understate. "Cannot be overstated" is a compliment meaning "very, very important", not a criticism. In maths, if someone says 100 people came but only 60 did, the number was overstated by 40.