Litotes
noun /ˈlʌɪtəʊtiːz/ — Understatement by denying the opposite — 'not bad' for 'excellent'.
Definition
A figure of speech involving understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary — saying 'not unhappy' rather than 'happy', or 'not bad' rather than 'excellent'.
Beyond the definition
Litotes is the language of British understatement taken to a systematic extreme. 'Not unpleasant' for delicious, 'not unintelligent' for brilliant — the double negative that creates a kind of soft affirmation, a statement that acknowledges the positive while maintaining distance from direct enthusiasm.
Origin & history
From Greek litotes (plainness, simplicity), from litos (plain, simple). The paradox: the simple figure is actually double — it arrives at its meaning through two negatives rather than one positive.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The British weather was 'not entirely unpleasant' — litotes for sunshine.
'Not bad at all' is a litotes that in English understatement can mean extraordinary.
He deployed litotes with precision — never saying a thing directly when a careful negative would do better.
Synonyms
understatement, double negative, meiosis
Antonyms
hyperbole, overstatement
Related words
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Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
Disagreement at Table
Two people have a heated disagreement at a table, one using pointed, angry gestures while the other raises a hand, signaling a request for pause.
Litotes involves expressing an affirmative through the negative of its contrary. While the conflict is clear and hostile, it functions as a visual representation of how human interactions often rely on understated, indirect signals to communicate intensity, such as gesturing for a pause during a heated moment.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration