A hyperbole is a figure of speech that uses exaggeration for emphasis. The athlete didn't actually <em>tear</em> down the road, but a reader can tell that he was running as fast as he could so he could take first place.
Many English words are formed by taking basic words and adding combinations of prefixes and suffixes to them. A basic word to which affixes (prefixes and suffixes) are added is called a root word because it forms the basis of a new word. For example, the word lovely consists of the word love and the suffix-ly.
