423:
173:. However, the interpretation of negation may depend on context, including cultural context. In speech, litotes may also depend on intonation and emphasis; for example, the phrase "not bad" can be intonated differently so as to mean either "mediocre" or "excellent". Along the same lines, litotes can be used (as a form of
316:, or understatement. It is listed in conjunction with antenantiosis and meiosis, two other forms of rhetorical deminutio. For example, a very accomplished artist might say "I'm not a bad painter", and by refraining from bragging but still acknowledging his skill, the artist is seen as talented, modest, and credible.
293:
had several types of litotes. These points are denied negatives ("She's not a terrible wife" meaning "she's a good wife"), denied positives ("He's not a great learner" meaning 'he has difficulty learning'), creating litotes without negating anything, and creating litotes using a negative adjective
790:, in which the Mayor says: "There's no such thing as a man with no sins on his conscience", meaning 'All men have sins on their conscience' (Act 1, Scene 1). In this case, it is used to downplay the Mayor's statement – a euphemism of sorts – making it less harsh than its understood meaning.
554:('It's not stupid'), generally said to admit a clever suggestion without showing oneself as too enthusiastic. (As with all litotes, this phrase can also be used with its literal meaning that the thing is not stupid but rather may be clever or occupy the middle ground between stupid and clever.)
287:). Cicero uses the word to mean simplicity (or frugality) of life. The meaning and the function of the word changed from 'simple' to the idea of understatement that involves double negatives, a way to state things simply.
605:, literally 'not wrong') is often used to present something as very good or correct. In this way, it is distinct in meaning from the English 'not bad' (though not 'not bad at all') or the general use of the French
1073:
181:
provide emphasis by diminishing the harshness of an observation; "He isn't the cleanest person I know" could be used as a means of indicating that someone is a messy person.
1275:
696:(literally 'less bad') is similar to the English expression, 'So much the better' – used to comment that a situation is more desirable than its negative (cf.
1336:
1306:
808:('It's not at all foolish'), as a form of compliment (i.e., to say something was smart or clever). Another common Spanish phrase is
470:
820:
above), meaning literally 'less bad', but used in the same way as the
English phrases "Thank goodness!" or "It's just as well".
1329:
1257:
1219:
448:
157:
in which understatement is used to emphasize a point by stating a negative to further affirm a positive, often incorporating
1546:
832:, it is quite common to use litotes. For example, when one chances to meet someone after a long time it is usual to say:
306:, or credibility, by expressing modesty or downplaying one's accomplishments to gain the audience's favor. In the book
732:(bk. 1 ln. 692, 'not one occasion'), meaning 'on more than one occasion'. Some common words are derived from litotes:
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780:('very not bad') to signify that it is, in fact, very good. An example of litotes can be found in the
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669:(also literally meaning 'not bad') is often used to present something as very good or correct, as is
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516:" (line 186), 'he is neither unthinking, nor unseeing', meaning that he is both wise and prudent.
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569:(1636). The heroine, Chimène, says to her lover Rodrigue, who just killed her father:
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1232:(1938). "Litotes in Old Norse". Vol. 53, no. 1. PMLA. pp. 1–33.
704:, that "democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others").
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1252:(2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 95–96.
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1276:"Litotes: The most common rhetorical device you've never heard of"
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641:, understatements using litotes are seen as characteristic of the
629:, literally 'not simple') is used to refer to an impressive feat.
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651:('it is not even so bad'), which is used to mean 'that's great'.
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542:('he is not disagreeable') is another example, actually meaning
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1210:. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp.
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One of the most famous litotes of French literature is in
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The first known mention of litotes is in a letter from
257:), meaning 'simplicity', and is derived from the word
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744:('not none') is understood to mean 'several', while
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492:, instances of litotes can be found as far back as
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1172:"not so shabby/not too shabby definition, meaning"
908:
536:(not bad) is used similarly to the English, while
169:, and is always deliberate with the intention of
575:('Go, I hate you not'), meaning 'I love you'.
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451:. Unsourced material may be challenged and
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248:and is a means of much stoical restraint.
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471:Learn how and when to remove this message
716:, an example of litotes can be found in
645:. A stereotypical example is the phrase
323:
1012:WordNet: An Electronic Lexical Database
900:
756:('not never') is used for 'sometimes'.
1076:The Garden of Eloquence (1593) Schemas
1032:
700:'s comment, since transformed into a
251:The word litotes is of Greek origin (
7:
936:participating institution membership
449:adding citations to reliable sources
764:Perhaps the most common litote in
25:
302:Litotes can be used to establish
161:for effect. Litotes is a form of
1274:Shovel, Martin (26 March 2015).
513:οὔτε γάρ ἔστ᾽ ἄφρων οὔτ᾽ ἄσκοπος
421:
184:The use of litotes is common in
108:
40:
1250:A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms
165:, which can be in the form of
1:
1176:Cambridge Dictionaries Online
141:), also known classically as
1178:. Cambridge University Press
850:, it is quite common to say
512:
265:
619:
595:
395:"The weather isn't great."
374:"It's somewhat expensive."
1722:
1161:Litotes in Old Norse, p. 1
1143:. Brigham Young University
1048:litotes (figure of speech)
648:det er ikke så ringe endda
403:"It's not a masterpiece."
343:"It's not my favorite..."
259:
253:
1074:Perseus: Henry Peachum.,
916:Oxford English Dictionary
838:('It wasn't yesterday').
776:
770:
625:
623:, traditional characters
613:
601:
599:, traditional characters
589:
539:il n'est pas antipathique
371:"It's not the cheapest."
1078:, accessed 15 March 2023
787:The Government Inspector
1307:Encyclopædia Britannica
1294:Definition and examples
1119:Encyclopædia Britannica
921:Oxford University Press
572:Va, je ne te hais point
545:il est très sympathique
27:Ironic figure of speech
1310:(11th ed.). 1911.
1126:VI, p. 266. "Litotes".
1014:. Princeton University
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309:Rhetorica ad Herennium
871:Siomi ar yr ochr orau
802:, it is usual to say
496:. In Book 24 of the
445:improve this section
1670:Rhetorical question
1202:Smyth, Herbert Weir
987:The Free Dictionary
958:The Free Dictionary
919:(Online ed.).
611:. Also, the phrase
390:"Very lousy, Bob!"
346:"I don't like it."
1246:Lanham, Richard A.
1141:"Silva Rhetoricae"
551:Ce n'est pas bête!
387:"Not great, Bob!"
351:"Not too shabby!"
330:Instead of saying
242:Old English poetry
1706:Figures of speech
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1464:Hysteron proteron
1346:Figures of speech
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835:Det var inte igår
698:Winston Churchill
643:Jutlandic dialect
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406:"It's mediocre."
298:Litotes and ethos
273:Classical litotes
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777:очень неплохо
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1663:Antanaclasis
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1567:Epanorthosis
1484:Polysyndeton
1377:Antimetabole
1362:Alliteration
1305:
1281:The Guardian
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250:
183:
153:and form of
146:
142:
35:
29:
1552:Catachresis
1537:Antonomasia
1532:Antiphrasis
1474:Parallelism
1424:Epanalepsis
1387:Aposiopesis
1367:Anadiplosis
926:18 December
884:Antiphrasis
753:non numquam
666:niet slecht
620:bù jiǎn dān
461:August 2015
361:Non-trivial
335:"Not bad."
244:and of the
1680:Synecdoche
1584:Dysphemism
1557:Ecphonesis
1547:Apostrophe
1489:Spoonerism
1479:Polyptoton
1459:Hyperbaton
1434:Epistrophe
1419:Consonance
1382:Antithesis
1259:0520076699
1221:0674362500
1195:References
1147:22 October
1124:Micropædia
1103:31 October
1059:31 October
1033:Smyth 1920
938:required.)
747:nonnumquam
506:describes
382:"Like..."
284:De Oratore
281:in 55 BC (
147:moderatour
1685:Tautology
1611:Apophasis
1589:Euphemism
1572:Hyperbole
1562:Ekphrasis
1454:Hypallage
1444:Hendiadys
1439:Epizeuxis
1429:Epiphrase
1397:Asyndeton
1392:Assonance
1054:About.com
910:"litotes"
889:Hyperbole
817:meno male
811:menos mal
741:non nulli
729:non semel
702:snowclone
693:meno male
593:(Pinyin:
432:does not
314:deminutio
291:Old Norse
218:Ukrainian
1700:Category
1648:Pleonasm
1638:Oxymoron
1633:Metonymy
1628:Metaphor
1601:Innuendo
1577:Adynaton
1542:Aphorism
1527:Allusion
1522:Allegory
1494:Symploce
1469:Isocolon
1402:Chiasmus
1372:Anaphora
1248:(1991).
1204:(1920).
878:See also
735:nonnulli
617:(pinyin
508:Achilles
354:"Nice!"
338:"Good."
327:Litotes
320:Examples
171:emphasis
32:rhetoric
1623:Litotes
1616:Sarcasm
1594:Meiosis
1354:Schemes
1182:2 April
1122:(1984)
1092:litotes
992:24 June
963:24 June
952:Litotes
848:Turkish
842:Turkish
830:Swedish
824:Swedish
800:Spanish
794:Spanish
771:неплохо
766:Russian
760:Russian
688:Italian
682:Italian
608:pas mal
585:Chinese
579:Chinese
532:pas mal
453:removed
438:sources
254:λιτότης
226:Chinese
210:Aramaic
198:Yiddish
190:Russian
186:English
175:auxesis
167:meiosis
149:, is a
36:litotes
1675:Simile
1514:Tropes
1504:Zeugma
1499:Tmesis
1407:Climax
1256:
1238:458399
1236:
1218:
1018:1 July
671:German
639:Danish
633:Danish
596:bù cuò
565:Le Cid
526:French
520:French
279:Cicero
238:Slovak
230:French
222:Polish
206:Hebrew
194:German
177:), to
18:Litote
1606:Irony
1234:JSTOR
1035:p.680
932:
895:Notes
866:Welsh
860:Welsh
750:from
738:from
714:Latin
708:Latin
661:Dutch
499:Iliad
494:Homer
304:ethos
266:litos
260:λιτός
234:Czech
214:Greek
202:Dutch
155:irony
1412:Anti
1254:ISBN
1216:ISBN
1184:2015
1149:2013
1105:2014
1061:2014
1020:2012
994:2012
965:2012
928:2021
718:Ovid
504:Zeus
436:any
434:cite
236:and
1658:Pun
1212:680
864:In
846:In
828:In
798:In
784:'s
768:is
720:'s
712:In
686:In
637:In
626:不簡單
614:不简单
583:In
561:'s
524:In
488:In
447:by
363:."
145:or
30:In
1702::
1304:.
1278:.
1214:.
1174:.
1131:^
1096:.
1052:.
1010:.
985:.
956:.
913:.
868:,
726::
690:,
678:.
602:不錯
590:不错
528:,
502:,
263:,
232:,
228:,
224:,
220:,
216:,
212:,
208:,
204:,
200:,
196:,
192:,
188:,
131:iː
106::
104:US
100:,
90:iː
78:aɪ
63:iː
57:oʊ
48:aɪ
34:,
1338:e
1331:t
1324:v
1284:.
1262:.
1240:.
1224:.
1186:.
1151:.
1107:.
1094:"
1090:"
1063:.
1050:"
1046:"
1022:.
996:.
983:"
979:"
967:.
954:"
950:"
930:.
474:)
468:(
463:)
459:(
455:.
441:.
359:"
137:/
134:z
128:t
125:ə
122:t
119:ɪ
116:l
113:ˈ
110:/
96:/
93:z
87:t
84:ə
81:t
75:l
72:ˈ
69:,
66:z
60:t
54:t
51:ˈ
45:l
42:/
38:(
20:)
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