What literary term describes a figure of speech used to emphasize a point through exaggeration?

The correct answer is hyperbole, which refers to a specific figure of speech that involves deliberate and extreme exaggeration to highlight a particular point or express strong emotions. Hyperbole is often used for comedic effect or to create a dramatic emphasis in writing and speech. For instance, someone might say, "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse," which clearly exaggerates their hunger to make a point rather than suggesting they would literally consume an entire horse.

The other options, while related to figurative language, do not embody this quality of exaggeration. Metonymy involves substituting one term for another that it is closely associated with (like "the crown" for royalty), synecdoche refers to a part being used to represent the whole or vice versa (like "wheels" for a car), and litotes is an understatement that expresses an idea by negating its opposite (for example, saying "not bad" to mean something is good). Each of these terms serves a different purpose in language and does not involve the dramatic emphasis that hyperbole provides.