litotes
Negating the opposite
Litotes is a figure of speech that affirms something by denying its opposite, typically for understatement or ironic effect.
Saying someone is not unintelligent means they're quite smart; not bad often means good or impressive.
The device appears frequently in everyday speech: I wouldn't say no to a drink.
Litotes can convey modesty, sarcasm, or diplomatic restraint.
Intentional diminishment for effect
- figure of speechNonliteral expressive phrase
- negationDenial or cancellation
- affirmationPositive statement of truth
- double negativePaired negations in syntax
Freedom from arrogance
- self-effacementDownplaying one's importance
- understatementIntentional diminishment for effect
- reserveSupply kept back
- reticenceHabitual verbal restraint
unpretentiousness · unassuming · diffidence · restraint · tactfulness · discretion · demureness · self-deprecation
Irony used to mock
- tongue-in-cheekHumorously not meant literally
- dry humorUnderstated, expressionless comedy
- witClever, inventive humor
- sardonicGrimly mocking
Art of persuasive language
- oratoryFormal eloquent discourse
- CiceroAncient Rome's greatest speaker
- classical rhetoricAncient art of persuasion
- AristotleGreek founder of formal logic
figures of speech · classical literature · epic poetry · Homer · Virgil · oration · declamation · persuasion
understatement
Intentional diminishment for effect
- figure of speechNonliteral expressive phrase
- negationDenial or cancellation
- affirmationPositive statement of truth
double negative · rhetorical device · circumlocution · euphemism
not unlike
Similar, stated negatively
- not badGrudging approval phrase
- not uncommonOccurring fairly often
humility
Freedom from arrogance
- self-effacementDownplaying one's importance
- understatementIntentional diminishment for effect
- reserveSupply kept back
reticence · unpretentiousness · unassuming · diffidence · restraint · tactfulness · discretion · demureness · self-deprecation
sarcasm
Irony used to mock
- tongue-in-cheekHumorously not meant literally
- dry humorUnderstated, expressionless comedy
- witClever, inventive humor
sardonic · deadpan · wry · false humility · backhanded compliment
rhetoric
Art of persuasive language
- oratoryFormal eloquent discourse
- CiceroAncient Rome's greatest speaker
- classical rhetoricAncient art of persuasion
Aristotle · figures of speech · classical literature · epic poetry · Homer · Virgil · oration · declamation · persuasion
- figuresfigure of speech, figure, trope, simile, metaphor
- negativesno, not, never, none, nothing
- literary devicesmetaphor, simile, hyperbole, personification, alliteration
- rhetoricrhetoric, persuasion, oratory, argumentation, debate
- figurative languagemetaphor, simile, figure of speech, analogy, personification
- poetic devicesalliteration, assonance, consonance, rhyme, simile
litoteshyperbole
Rhetorical extreme exaggeration
exaggeration · overstatement · amplification · magnification · embellishment