litotes

/laɪˈtəʊ.tiːz/

Meanings

noun

委婉说法，以否定的方式表达肯定。

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.) "

老师对学生文章的评价并非没有帮助。(Meaning: The comments were helpful.)

Related Words

particularly adverb

/pəˈtɪkjəli/ /pəˈtɪkjəlɚli/

尤其，特别，格外。

"The apéritifs were particularly stimulating."

这些餐前酒尤其令人兴奋。

something noun

/ˈsamθɪŋ/ /ˈsʌmθɪŋ/

东西，事物

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

我朋友告诉我盒子里有东西，但我还不知道那是什么。

negation noun

/nəˈɡeɪʃən/

否定，否认。

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

她在工作中总是否定我的想法，这让合作变得很困难。

denying verb

/dɪˈnaɪɪŋ/ /dəˈnaɪɪŋ/

否认，拒绝。

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

我想去参加派对，但是被拒绝了。

opposite noun

/ˈɒpəsɪt/ /ˈɑp(ə)sɪt/

反面，对立面

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

在考试复习的最佳方法上，我哥哥的意见和我的正好相反。

teacher noun

/ˈtiːt͡ʃə/ /ˈtit͡ʃɚ/

老师，教师

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

我女儿的老师非常友善而且乐于助人。

whereby adverb

/wɛə(ɹ)ˈbaɪ/

由此，借此。

"Whereby goest thou?"

你这是要往哪儿去？

negative noun

/ˈnɛ(e)ɡəˌɾɪv/ /ˈnɛɡətɪv/ /-ɾɪv/

否决，否定，反对。

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

老师对项目提案的否决意味着我们必须彻底修改它。

positive noun

/ˈpɒzɪ̈tɪv/ /ˈpɑzɪ̈tɪv/

实在的事物，真实的事物。

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

提前完成项目的好处是可以额外获得一周的假期，这是实实在在的。

quality noun

/ˈkwɒlɪti/ /ˈkwælɪti/ /ˈkwɑləti/

质量，品质.

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

生活质量通常取决于健康、教育和收入。

comments noun

/ˈkɒmɛnts/ /ˈkɑmɛnts/

评论，意见。

"I have no comment on that."

我对此无可奉告。

unhelpful adjective

/ʌnˈhɛlpfəl/

没用的，无益的.

"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"

即使你真的受到了伤害，抱持着受害者心态也是没用的，因为它会让你丧失力量。