verb

represent (something) as being larger, better, or worse than it really is.

he was apt to exaggerate any aches and pains

overstate,overemphasize,overstress,overestimate,overvalue,magnify,amplify,aggrandize,inflate,embellish,embroider,colour,elaborate,over-elaborate,oversell,overdraw,overplay,dramatize,hyperbolize,add colour,stretch the truth,catastrophize,overpitch,pile it on,lay it on thick,lay it on with a trowel/shovel,make a drama out of a crisis,make a big thing of,shoot a line,draw the longbow