English Explanatory Dictionary

litotes

English dictionary entry

Meanings

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

Pronunciation

/laɪˈtəʊ.tiːz/ lītō'tēz LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-litotes.wav Litotes.ogg

Word forms

litotes

Etymology

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

Synonyms

antenantiosis meiosis moderatour

Antonyms

hyperbole

Related words

paradiastole double negative

Derived words

litotic litotical litotically

Translations

Catalan: lítote Czech: litotes Dutch: litotes Esperanto: litoto Esperanto: maltroigo Finnish: litoteesi French: litote German: Litotes Greek: λιτότητα Ancient Greek: λιτότης Ido: litoto Irish: liotóid Italian: litote Manx: fo-raa Norwegian Bokmål: litot Norwegian Bokmål: litotes Polish: litota Polish: litotes Portuguese: litotes Russian: лито́та Serbo-Croatian: литота Serbo-Croatian: litota Sicilian: lìtuti Sicilian: litoti Spanish: litote Spanish: lítotes Spanish: lítote Spanish: litotes Tagalog: makumbaba
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