litotes

Advancedzipf 1.23

Pronunciation

/ˈlaɪtətiːz/(LY-tuh-teez)

Part of speech

nounformal/rhetoric

Chinese

间接肯定法；反叙法

Definition

Ironic understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary (e.g., "not bad" meaning "good").

Word family

  • litotic/laɪˈtɒtɪk/(adj)间接肯定的

Collocations

  • a form of litotes
  • classic litotes
  • example of litotes
  • rhetorical litotes

Examples

  1. 1."She's not unintelligent" is litotes — it means she's quite smart. (understatement via double negative)
  2. 2."Not the worst idea" is British litotes for "actually a rather good idea." (understated affirmation)

Synonyms

  • understatement/ˈʌndəsteɪtmənt/— saying less than meant
  • meiosis/maɪˈəʊsɪs/— rhetorical understatement

Etymology

from Greek "litotes" = plainness, simplicity — "litos" = plain — saying something plainly by negating its opposite