Background for litotes
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litotes

/laɪˈtəʊ.tiːz/

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

Examples :

"The teacher's comments on the student's essay were not unhelpful. (Meaning: The comments were helpful.) "
language linguistics grammar word figure style writing

Related Words

Illustration particularly

particularly adverb

/pəˈtɪkjəli/ /pəˈtɪkjəlɚli/

(focus) Especially, extremely.

"The apéritifs were particularly stimulating."

Illustration something

something noun

/ˈsamθɪŋ/ /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

An object whose nature is yet to be defined.

"My friend told me there was something in the box, but I didn't know what it was yet. "

Illustration negation

negation noun

/nəˈɡeɪʃən/

The act of negating something.

"Her constant negation of my ideas at work made it difficult to collaborate. "

Illustration denying

denying verb

/dɪˈnaɪɪŋ/ /dəˈnaɪɪŋ/

To disallow or reject.

"I wanted to go to the party, but I was denied."

Illustration opposite

opposite noun

/ˈɒpəsɪt/ /ˈɑp(ə)sɪt/

Something opposite or contrary to something else.

"My brother's opinion is the opposite of mine on the best way to study for the exam. "

Illustration teacher

teacher noun

/ˈtiːt͡ʃə/ /ˈtit͡ʃɚ/

A person who teaches, especially one employed in a school.

"My daughter's teacher is very kind and helpful. "

Illustration whereby

whereby adverb

/wɛə(ɹ)ˈbaɪ/

(interrogative) By what, in which direction; how.

"Whereby goest thou?"

Illustration negative

negative noun

/ˈnɛ(e)ɡəˌɾɪv/ /ˈnɛɡətɪv/ /-ɾɪv/

Refusal or withholding of assents; prohibition, veto

"The teacher's negative on the project proposal meant we had to revise it completely. "

Illustration positive

positive noun

/ˈpɒzɪ̈tɪv/ /ˈpɑzɪ̈tɪv/

A thing capable of being affirmed; something real or actual.

"The positive of finishing the project early is a bonus week of vacation. "

Illustration quality

quality noun

/ˈkwɒlɪti/ /ˈkwælɪti/ /ˈkwɑləti/

Level of excellence.

"Quality of life is usually determined by health, education, and income."

Illustration comments

comments noun

/ˈkɒmɛnts/ /ˈkɑmɛnts/

A spoken or written remark.

"I have no comment on that."

Illustration unhelpful

unhelpful adjective

/ʌnˈhɛlpfəl/

Not providing help or assistance; not helpful.

"Even if you are genuinely a victim, having a victim mentality is unhelpful because it is disempowering. ― Ned Kelly, "NFL Players Are Setting A Bad Example By Teaching Black People To Encourage Victimhood", 8th of October 2017"