What does "hyperbolic" mean?
Of or relating to hyperbole.
Hyperbolic
/ˌhaɪ.pɚˈbɔl.ɪk/ adj
adj ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Of or relating to hyperbole.
- Grammar: hyperbolic is listed as adj.
- Nearest alternatives: abandoned, aggrandized, amplified, boundless.
- Useful contrasts: Euclidean, conservatively, elliptic.
- Usage evidence: Mirzakhani’s work is considered to be ‘pure mathematics’, involving theoretical understanding of the symmetry of curved spaces and hyperbolic objects, but her findings may also have practical implications in quantum physics.
How to use "hyperbolic"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "hyperbolic" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "hyperbolic" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "hyperbolic" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "hyperbolic" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "hyperbolic" is acting as adj in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abandoned" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "hyperbolic", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Adjective
- 1 Of or relating to hyperbole.
- 2 Of or pertaining to a hyperbola. not-comparable
"In this configuration the on-axis image is produced at the real hyperbolic focus (fₛ₂) but off-axis performance suffers."
- 3 Using hyperbole: exaggerated.
"At the risk of being slightly hyperbolic, the fourth season of The Simpsons is the greatest thing in the history of the universe."
- 4 Indicates that the specified function is a hyperbolic function rather than a trigonometric function. not-comparable
"The hyperbolic cosine of zero is one."
- 5 Of a perceived color, having a saturation exceeding 100%.
"Using the techniques already explored, we can contrive to activate a coding triplet in any one of those four extremal corners. If one fixates at length on a pale blue-green stimulus, as in Figure 18, and then refixates on an already maximally saturated orange surface, then the resituated f/p vector will yield an activation triplet within the farthest corner of the cube, beyond the limits of the classical spindle. The H–J theory of our internal color representations entails that one should there find a circular after-image of a hyperbolic orange, an orange that is more "ostentatiously orange" than any (non-self-luminous) orange you have ever seen, or ever will see, as the objective color of a physical object. Row 1 of Figure 19 will allow you, once more, to test such a prediction for yourself."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 Having negative curvature or sectional curvature. not-comparable
"There is a universal constant m_0>0 such that every hyperbolic surface R has an embedded hyperbolic disk with radius greater than m_0."
- 7 Whose domain has two (possibly ideal) fixed points joined by a line mapped to itself by translation. not-comparable
"A hyperbolic isometry f has two (distinct) fixed points on ∂ℋ."
- 8 Of, pertaining to, or in a hyperbolic space (a space having negative curvature or sectional curvature). not-comparable
"Exactly one hypercycle is a hyperbolic geodesic, and this is called the axis A_f of f."
Adjective
- 1 enlarged beyond truth or reasonableness wordnet
- 2 of or relating to a hyperbola wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Mirzakhani’s work is considered to be ‘pure mathematics’, involving theoretical understanding of the symmetry of curved spaces and hyperbolic objects, but her findings may also have practical implications in quantum physics."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "hyperbolic"?
Common synonyms include: abandoned, aggrandized, amplified, boundless, conic, conic related.
How do you use "hyperbolic" in a sentence?
Mirzakhani’s work is considered to be ‘pure mathematics’, involving theoretical understanding of the symmetry of curved spaces and hyperbolic objects, but her findings may also have practical implications in quantum physics.
How do you pronounce "hyperbolic"?
Pronounced /ˌhaɪ.pɚˈbɔl.ɪk/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Latin hyperbolic(us), from Ancient Greek ὑπερβολικός (huperbolikós). First attested in the 15th century. By surface analysis, hyperbol(e) + -ic.
Etymology 2
First attested in 1676. By surface analysis, hyperbol(a) + -ic.