Embellish  the  Details! (2024)

Exaggerated stories can cultivate closeness.

By Kieran McLean published December 16, 2019 - last reviewed on February 13, 2020

Embellish  the  Details! (1)

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Listening to someone recount an unbelievable experience or sharing one’s own can draw people closer to one another. Does it matter whether the telling is completely accurate? Recent studies suggest that shared stories can warm listeners up to storytellers even when there is reason to think an account is somewhat embellished.

In one study, participants read stories by a fictional person, Pat, about experiences such as witnessing an argument or having a car break down. The versions Pat shared were either truthful, exaggerated, or contained outright lies. When asked to imagine that they were hearing the story as one of Pat’s friends, participants who had read the exaggerated version (“My car swerved on the road and I lost control…”), including those informed of what actually happened, rated the story as higher quality than did participants who read a truthful account. And unlike those who read the blatantly dishonest version (“I crashed into another car…”), people who read the exaggerated version felt roughly as close to Pat as those who read the honest one.

Two experiments in which participants watched a video and then heard a storyteller describe the events to them found that they tended to feel closer to someone who exaggerated rather than aimed for accuracy.

“The function of autobiographical memory is to share who you are as a person, and exaggeration can help with that,” says study co-author Holly Cole, a psychologist at Wesleyan College in Georgia. If embellishing the details of a story can be socially useful, however, pushing it too far can backfire. “Lying could make listeners feel less close to the storyteller.”

Facebook/LinkedIn image: Mangostar/Shutterstock

Embellish  the  Details! (2024)

FAQs

Embellish  the  Details!? ›

To improve (an account or report) by adding details, often of a fictitious or imaginary kind; touch up. Webster's New World. To embellish is defined as to make something fancier by decorating it, or to exaggerate or add details to a story to make it more exciting or interesting.

What does it mean to embellish the facts? ›

To improve (an account or report) by adding details, often of a fictitious or imaginary kind; touch up. Webster's New World. To embellish is defined as to make something fancier by decorating it, or to exaggerate or add details to a story to make it more exciting or interesting.

What does embellishing it mean? ›

: to make beautiful with ornamentation : decorate. a book embellished with illustrations. : to heighten the attractiveness of by adding decorative or fanciful details : enhance. embellished our account of the trip.

How do you use embellish in a sentence? ›

He sometimes had to embellish the facts in order to, as he saw it, highlight the truth. There were claims the candidate had embellished his war record. There was no need to flatter or embellish.

What is an example of embellishing? ›

to make something more beautiful by adding something to it: The ceiling was embellished with flowers and leaves. to add or change some details of a story, usually to make it more interesting or exciting: He couldn't resist embellishing the story of his accident a little.

What is a synonym for to embellish something? ›

Some common synonyms of embellish are adorn, beautify, deck, decorate, garnish, and ornament. While all these words mean "to enhance the appearance of something by adding something unessential," embellish often stresses the adding of superfluous or adventitious ornament.

What is the best synonym for embellish? ›

synonyms for embellish
  • adorn.
  • bedeck.
  • dress up.
  • embroider.
  • exaggerate.
  • festoon.
  • gild.
  • overstate.

Is embellish positive or negative? ›

Embellish often has the positive meaning of adding something to make it more handsome or beautifully decorated.

Is embellishing the same as lying? ›

According to the official dictionary definition of "embellish," the term means "to heighten the attractiveness of by adding decorative or fanciful details." The major difference between ornamenting a story and telling a straight-up lie is that embellishments find their grounding in real events (like, say, a wallet ...

What are the different types of embellishing? ›

Types of embellishing tones include passing tones, neighbor tones, appoggiaturas, escape tones, pedal tones, suspensions, and anticipations.

Why do people embellish things? ›

Keep in mind that there are probably emotional reasons why they feel the need to embellish their stories. They may exaggerate because they are looking for attention, they want to appear interesting, or they need others like them.

What is to decorate or embellish something especially? ›

A garnish is a decoration or embellishment, often used with food. It is also the verb that means to do the decorating: you can garnish a baked fish with a garnish of lemon slices and parsley.

What is embellishment in writing? ›

Embellishing occurs most often when not enough research has been done or writers are scrounging for a word count. More often than not, more words are written than necessary, and what has been written severely lacks substance and depth. Embellishment easily becomes redundancy and repetition without depth of meaning.

What is an embellished simple sentence? ›

An embellished simple sentence is a humble single subject/verb construction that has been dressed up. It is not embellished by adding additional clauses, but it can be easily enhanced by using an engaging subject and verb.

What does embellish yourself mean? ›

embellish - make more attractive by adding ornament, colour, etc.; "Decorate the room for the party"; "beautify yourself for the special day" adorn, decorate, grace, ornament, beautify.

What is the antonym of embellishing? ›

Option B)disfigure is correct as the word disfigure means spoil the appearance of and the word embellish means make (something) more attractive by the addition of decorative details or features. Both the words are opposite of each other.

What is it called when you embellish the truth? ›

Verb. To speak in a manner that is exaggerated and typically not sincere. lay it on. exaggerate. overstate.

What is it called when you use something to describe something? ›

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE Whenever you describe something by comparing it with something else, you are using figurative language.

What does embellish experience mean? ›

Embellishment could mean picking one word over another word because it sounds better. But it could also mean adding details about your work experience that never actually happened.

What's another word for flashy things? ›

Some common synonyms of flashy are garish, gaudy, meretricious, and tawdry. While all these words mean "vulgarly or cheaply showy," flashy implies an effect of brilliance quickly and easily seen to be shallow or vulgar.

What is a synonym for making something more known? ›

  • reveal.
  • disclose.
  • evince.
  • inform.
  • manifest.
  • show.
  • sing.
  • snitch.

What is a word for making the best of something? ›

synonyms for make the most of

flourish. love. thrive. delight. luxuriate.

What is the noun for embellish? ›

noun. /ɪmˈbelɪʃmənt/ /ɪmˈbelɪʃmənt/ [uncountable, countable] (formal)

Why do people embellish their stories? ›

Exaggerated stories can cultivate closeness.

Recent studies suggest that shared stories can warm listeners up to storytellers even when there is reason to think an account is somewhat embellished.

Is an over exaggeration a lie? ›

The most common way that people transform boring stories into interesting stories is by exaggerating. Most people consider exaggerations to be lies because they intentionally mislead others to believe events occurred in a way they did not. Of course, lying is usually associated with a wide range of negative outcomes.

What is the word for someone making up lies? ›

Mendacious comes from the Latin word mendax, meaning “lying” or “false.” It is often used to refer to people who habitually lie. Mendax is related to the Latin word for “fault,” menda, which is the root of amend and emend.

What is embellishment in law? ›

Embellish means to make beautiful, decorate or to make (a story) more interesting by adding detail. For example, the designer agreed to provide sketches and working details for the fixtures and embellishments. Example of a State Statute ( California) using the term.

What is embellishment in psychology? ›

Embellishing moments is a skill of emotional regulation developed through different approaches. These include Positive Psychology or Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Personality Disorder used by the psychologist Marsha M. Linehan.

What type of personality lies the most? ›

A liar lies incessantly to get their way and does so with little awareness. It is viewed as a coping mechanism developed in early childhood and is often associated with some other type of mental health disorder like an antisocial personality disorder.

Why do narcissists embellish? ›

Narcissists may lie for a variety of reasons which include seeking admiration or to hide their flaws or mistakes. They commonly lie to seek attention. In some cases, a person with this type of personality disorder will lie in order to make the person (s)he is lying to question their own sense of reality.

When someone distorts the truth? ›

Truth distortion is almost a lifestyle for many narcissists. And distorting the truth can become so habitual and automatic that a person does it without thinking. That doesn't mean the lying is unconscious. Narcissists know what they're doing, even when they don't give pause.

What is an embellished item? ›

In sewing and crafts, an embellishment is anything that adds design interest to the piece.

How do you embellish writing? ›

Another simple way to embellish a sentence is by using synonyms. The picture displays a lot of action and excitement, so we should use an exciting predicate. For example, we could say “saunters” or “strides” or “gallops”. We could also change the subject from lion to another word like “creature” or “beast” or “mammal”.

What are embellished adjectives? ›

adjective
  • decorative.
  • ornamental.
  • adorning.
  • beautifying.
  • beautiful.
  • cosmetic.
  • lovely.
  • charming.

What does pattern embellished mean? ›

verb. If something is embellished with decorative features or patterns, it has those features or patterns on it and they make it look more attractive.

What part of speech is embellishing? ›

EMBELLISH (verb) definition and synonyms | Macmillan Dictionary.

What is an experienced person called? ›

1 skilled, expert, practiced, veteran, accomplished, versed, adept, qualified.

What are the 3 types of antonyms? ›

There are three types of English antonyms: contrary antonym, complementary antonym and converse antonym. According to the traditional linguistics, antonyms are totally opposite in meaning.

Why do people embellish truth? ›

We exaggerate the details in stories because we're compensating out of fear that others won't enjoy spending time with us. It's a defense mechanism from standing out in your truth because you'd rather hide behind a more impressive or seemingly valuable front.

What is it called when you exaggerate the truth? ›

verb. formal to talk about something in a way that makes it seem more important, impressive, or serious than it really is.

What is it called when someone lies and believes it? ›

A pathological liar tells lies and stories that fall somewhere between conscious lying and delusion. They sometimes believe their own lies. It's difficult to know how to deal with a pathological liar who may not always be conscious of their lying.

What is the word for mixing truth with lies? ›

Did you know? Prevaricate and its synonyms lie and equivocate all refer to playing fast and loose with the truth.

Why do some people exaggerate the truth? ›

Exaggerations may allow listeners to become more absorbed in the story or to process the gist of the information more effectively. In addition, listeners may feel closer to storytellers who tell a better story because they appreciate the effort put into creating it.

Why do people exaggerate about everything? ›

Cognitive distortions.

While most people experience cognitive distortions, exaggeration as a form of cognitive distortion is most common in emotionally-charged situations, where it may help cope with anxiety by giving the individual an inflated sense of control.

How do you respond to someone who exaggerates? ›

Challenge them during the conversation.

While they are talking with you, when you suspect that they are telling you something too unbelievable to be true, try politely bringing it to their attention. Ask them for more details, or ask them if what they are saying really happened.

What is an example of exaggeration lie? ›

Lies of Exaggeration.

This type of lie is similar to the lie of minimization in that there is a distortion of the truth; however, the subject will overstate what happened. For example, they might say something like, “Yeah, I am responsible for all the losses here.”

What is the opposite meaning of embellish? ›

Option B)disfigure is correct as the word disfigure means spoil the appearance of and the word embellish means make (something) more attractive by the addition of decorative details or features. Both the words are opposite of each other.

What is the opposite of embellish? ›

(denude) Opposite of to make more beautiful or attractive by adorning or decorating. denude. spoil. scar. disfigure.

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