Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. 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.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. In rhetoric, a figure in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary. Thus, “a citizen of no mean city” means one “of an illustrious city.”
Wiktionary
- n. A figure of speech in which the speaker emphasizes the magnitude of a statement by denying its opposite; a figure of speech in which understatement is used with negation to express a positive attribute; a form of irony
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A diminution or softening of statement for the sake of avoiding censure or increasing the effect by contrast with the moderation shown in the form of expression; a form of understatement.
WordNet 3.0
- n. understatement for rhetorical effect (especially when expressing an affirmative by negating its contrary)
Etymologies
- Greek lītotēs, from lītos, plain; see lei- in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“At first called litotes or meiosis, such understatement came to be called irony, at least by the end of the sixteenth century.”
“This construction is technically called litotes; it's a form of deliberate understatement that is often used comically.”
“A factually accurate restatement of my position, but a kind of litotes, like saying Lucy Liu is not very hideous at all.”
The Volokh Conspiracy » Would the Public Support “Cap and Refund”?
“Belated kudos to ricky p., on that splendid "litotes" analogy.”
“I'm not obscenely uneducated, but I had to look up "litotes".”
Steve Janke and dead, sodomized hookers? Hey, I'm just sayin'.
“They could be employing the subtle literary device of "litotes".”
“For readers too young to remember Dangerfield, that's not litotes.”
“In a rare experiment with litotes he said: We could have bowled better; we should have bowled differently.”
The Guardian: Mechanical bowling to blame for England breakdown | Vic Marks
“After all, Noir Nick's weapons are indeed his merciless use of sarcasm, dramatic irony, metaphor, bathos, puns, parody, litotes and satire, along with the gift and command of True Poetry.”
The Huffington Post: Binky Philips: Nick Tosches Saves The Last Dance For Satan
“The graph below illustrates that incidents of anti-social behaviour have fallen minimally; and that ignores that many incidents are never reported and that crime statistics are, shall we say, often an exercise in litotes.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘litotes’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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Rhetorical Devices
syllepsis, zeugma, trope, wellerism, anastrophe, anaphora, apostrophe, metonymy, chiasmus, antimetabole, syncope, open-list and 431 more...
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Logolepsy
"Luciferous Logolepsy is a collection of over 9,000 obscure English words. Though the definition of an 'English' word might seem to be straightforward, it is not. There exist so many adopted, deriv...
Anschauung, Areopagus, Argus, Briarean, Dei gratia, Dei judicium, Deo volente, Duecento, Foehn, Geflugelte Worte, Gegenschein, Hakenkreuz and 9230 more...
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The Request Line
This is the place to add words you'd like Charles Harrington Elster to pronounce for you!
swingeing, affiant, dahlia, hydrangea, re, clematis, Nabokov, casu marzu, schadenfreudgeon, nefarious, mewl, manteion and 170 more...
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September Words-11337
During the month of September, post at least 10 new words to this list. Make sure you cite where you read the word (book/author/pg) and quote the context/sentence where you found it. If someone has...
flabbergasted, discombobulated, inclination, serendipity, savvy, profound, incarnation, myriad, confiscate, audacity, deciduous, adieu and 79 more...
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Terms for AP Lit
This list is designed to be a reference for my AP Lit. students
symbolism, archetype, polysyndeton, ellipsis, anaphora, diction, asyndeton, chiasmus, syntax, oxymoron, logos, fallacy and 28 more...
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Nabokov start
I came here to look up what "iridule" meant and intend to lurk until I have a grip on how this plays. However, I have started this list to see how it operates, and since I am reading "Pale Fire", ...
iridule, vermiculated, torquated, torque, litotes, sectile, scrubbled
hgould3 Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition Sep 29, 2010
johnmperry different from zeugma, apparently. Or do I mean ellipsis? Jun 19, 2008
reesetee Not a bad word. ;-) Sep 23, 2007
nicsims "Well, this doesn't suck." Sep 22, 2007