危言耸听 wēi yán sǒng tīng
to spread alarmist talk; to exaggerate in order to frighten
Literally: alarming words startle hearing
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Origin
Descriptive; no single source story. Built on 危言 (frank or alarming words) from the Analects and 耸听 (startle the listener) from Song prose.
How to use it
Predicate or attributive; negative. Often 这绝不是危言耸听.
Example sentences
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- 专家强调，气候变化的威胁绝不是危言耸听。Zhuānjiā qiángdiào, qìhòu biànhuà de wēixié jué bú shì wēi yán sǒng tīng.Experts stress that the threat of climate change is by no means alarmist talk.expert emphasize, climate change (attributive particle) threat absolutely not is alarming words startle hearing
- 有些媒体为了吸引眼球，故意危言耸听。Yǒuxiē méitǐ wèile xīyǐn yǎnqiú, gùyì wēi yán sǒng tīng.Some media outlets deliberately spread alarmist stories to grab attention.some media in order to attract eyeball, deliberately alarming words startle hearing
More chengyu about speech & communication
- 不言而喻bù yán ér yùself-evident; it goes without saying
- 一针见血yì zhēn jiàn xiěto hit the nail on the head; incisive and to the point
- 侃侃而谈kǎn kǎn ér tánto speak with confidence and fluency; to talk with ease and assurance
- 言简意赅yán jiǎn yì gāiconcise and comprehensive; brief but to the point
- 含糊其辞hán hu qí cíto speak evasively; to be deliberately vague
- 一诺千金yí nuò qiān jīna promise worth a thousand pieces of gold; one's word is one's bond
- 振振有词zhèn zhèn yǒu cíto speak plausibly and at length; to argue with self-righteous confidence
- 唇枪舌剑chún qiāng shé jiàna heated verbal battle; to cross swords in debate