litotes

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Providing an instance of litotes, a former English teacher of mine once remarked, "I would not say that he was the dullest of scientists."

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Definitions (4)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. noun A figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite, as in This is no small problem.

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Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Litotes has been looked up 1325 times, favorited 7 times, listed 58 times, and commented on 3 times.

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Etymologies (2)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Greek lītotēs, from lītos, plain; see lei- in Indo-European roots.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (1)

  1. New Latin, from Greek λιτότης, plainness, simplicity, from λιτός, smooth, plain, from λίς, smooth.
 

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/ˈlɪtətiz/
by American Heritage

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