Hyperbole is a deliberate overstatement or understatement (the vehicle) intended to intensify some idea (the tenor). Hyperbole is meant to produce a more striking effect than a plain statement. Hyperbole is often used in humorous writings.
The opposite to hyperbole is called meiosis (Gr. making smaller) which consists in downtoning some idea (e. g.— "I think we might do worse"). A special kind of meiosis is
litotes whereby an affirmation is expressed by denying its contrary.
