litotes

noun /laɪˈtəʊ.tiːz/

1. A figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite.

   countable, uncountable

   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.

2. A figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite. — The negation of a negative quality to assert a positive.

   countable, uncountable

Where it comes from

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

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry litotes (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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