litotes [noun]

Definition of litotes:

understatement for rhetorical effect (especially when expressing an affirmative by negating its contrary)

Synonyms of litotes:

● Meiosis

● Figure of speech

● Understatement

● Distortion

● Metaphor

● Simile

● Exaggeration

● Malapropism


Opposite/Antonyms of litotes:

● Hyperbole

● Overstatement

● Exaggeration


Sentence/Example of litotes:

Yet this definition fails to explain instances of litotes, or understatement, which is often classified as a kind of irony.