Apedia

Litotes Figure Speech Negative Form Depend Positive Expressed

Front Litotes
Back A figure of speech
A positive being expressed by Negative
In rhetoric, litotes (/ˈlaɪtətiːz/,[1] US: /ˈlɪtətiːz/ or /laɪˈtoʊtiːz/; also known classically as antenantiosis or moderatour) is a figure of speech and form of verbal irony in which understatement is used to emphasize a point by stating a negative to further affirm a positive, often incorporating double negatives for effect.[2][3][4] Litotes is a form of understatement, more specifically meiosis, and is always deliberate with the intention of emphasis.[5] However, the interpretation of negation may depend on context, including cultural context. In speech, it may also depend on intonation and emphasis; for example, the phrase "not bad" can be intonated differently so as to mean either "mediocre" or "excellent".[6] Along the same lines, litotes can be used as a euphemism to diminish the harshness of an observation; "He isn't the cleanest person I know" could be used as a means of indicating that someone is a messy person.[7]

Learn with these flashcards. Click next, previous, or up to navigate to more flashcards for this subject.

Next card: Dorrit arthur prison clennam father mrs amy years

Previous card: Linda tressel anthony trollope loves aunt guardian madame

Up to card list: Wordsworth companion to literature by Bahman Moradi