litotes

American  

[lahy-tuh-teez, lit-uh-, lahy-toh-teez] / ˈlaɪ təˌtiz, ˈlɪt ə-, laɪˈtoʊ tiz /

noun

Rhetoric.

plural

litotes

1. understatement, especially that in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary, as in “not bad at all.”

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litotes British  

/ ˈlaɪtəʊˌtiːz /

noun

1. understatement for rhetorical effect, esp when achieved by using negation with a term in place of using an antonym of that term, as in "She was not a little upset" for "She was extremely upset."

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Etymology

Origin of litotes

First recorded in 1650–60; from New Latin, from Greek lītótēs “plainness, simplicity, understatement (in rhetoric),” derivative of lītós “smooth, plain, simple”

Explanation

You probably use litotes every day. Ever say "This dessert isn't bad" to mean "It's pretty good"? Or "Our teacher wasn't in the best mood today" to mean "He was really grouchy"? Well, those are examples of litotes — a way of saying something by saying what it's not. Beware using litotes too often, especially in written form. George Orwell, who had a lot to say about the misuses of language, once suggested that a good cure for the excessive use of the "not un-" format (a classic litotes), as in "a not unintelligent person," was to memorize the following sentence: "A not unblack dog was chasing a not unsmall rabbit across a not ungreen field." It usually does the trick.