litotes

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litotes

/laɪˈtəʊ.tiːz/ UK

Where it comes from

Learned borrowing from Late Latin lītotēs, from Ancient Greek λιτότης (litótēs, literally “plainness”), from λιτός (litós, “simple”).

noun litotes

countable, rhetoric, uncountable A figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite. The delicacy which prompts a later generation to reject that name is by no means necessarily a result of stricter habits, is far more often due to the flatness which comes of untiring repetition and to the greater piquancy of litotes.
Similar: antenantiosis, meiosis, moderatour · Opposite: hyperbole
countable, especially, rhetoric, uncountable The negation of a negative quality to assert a positive.
Similar: antenantiosis, meiosis, moderatour · Opposite: hyperbole

Translations

Every language

noun rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite

Español	litote, lítotes, lítote, litotes
Português	litotes
Français	litote
Deutsch	Litotes
Italiano	litote
Ελληνικά	λιτότητα litótita
Русский	лито́та litóta

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MLA

"litotes." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/litotes. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

litotes. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/litotes

Chicago

"litotes." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/litotes.

BibTeX

@misc{litotes_2026,
  title = {litotes},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/litotes},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}