litotes

/laɪˈtəʊ.tiːz/ · noun

Meaning

An ironic figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite, particularly the negation of a negative quality to say something positive.

Etymology / origin

No prose etymology has been added yet.

No ancestor words have been linked yet.

Related words

meiosis(English)enantiosis(English)antistasis(English)law of double negation(English)oxymoron(English)contrast(English)antithesis(English)antimetabole(English)understatement(English)pas(English)meanings(English)understood(English)

Descendant words

No descendant words have been linked yet.

Sources

DictionaryAPI.dev English dictionary data

litotes — meaning and etymology | WikiWord