Underexageration to emphasize the unimportance of something, ie. an amount of time, an amount of money, etc.
Friend: "sorry I'm late, how long have you been waiting?"
Me: (thinks to self) "I have been waiting here longer than I wanted to, but it's fine so I'll use hypobole to emphasize the unimportance of his lateness."
Me: (Speaks) "No, only about a minute."
Me: (thinks to self) "I have been waiting here longer than I wanted to, but it's fine so I'll use hypobole to emphasize the unimportance of his lateness."
Me: (Speaks) "No, only about a minute."
by BallZachBall December 04, 2023