For example, "실패라 하지 안할 수 없다." (Jim Harrison, "We made a difference. ("It's not stupid"), generally said to admit a clever suggestion without showing oneself as too enthusiastic.
(silpae-ra haji anhal su eopda) literally means "It’s impossible to not call it a failure.". Definition, Examples of Figure of Speech. An example of litotes in nonfiction is evident in Frederick Douglass’ landmark text, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. ", "He was well acquainted with the works of Dickens. [2][3][4] Litotes is a form of understatement, more specifically meiosis, and is always deliberate with the intention of emphasis.
Litotes is a type of understatement that uses negative words to express the contrary. Though often used to convey positive thoughts, it can be used for negative thoughts as well. In Korean, litotes are sometimes used for emphasis. (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.). In Latin, an example of litotes can be found in Ovid's Metamorphoses: "non semel" (bk. Double negatives are actually improper grammar and should be avoided.
Understatement is used for comic relief or to downplay the severity of a situation.
ThoughtCo uses cookies to provide you with a great user experience. [7], The use of litotes is common in English, Russian, German, Dutch, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, Ukrainian, Polish, Mandarin, French, Czech and Slovak, and is also prevalent in a number of other languages and dialects.
Some common words are derived from litotes: "nonnulli" from "non nulli" ("not none") is understood to mean "several", while "nonnumquam" from "non numquam" ("not never") is used for "sometimes". This is both an understatement and a double negative, a phrase that uses negative terms to express a positive statement. Litotes can be used effectively in literature; however, litotes is most often used in nonfiction and rhetoric because it successfully helps a speaker communicate his argument. What is understatement? What is litotes? Litotes, a figure of speech, conscious understatement in which emphasis is achieved by negation; examples are the common expressions “not bad!” and “no mean feat.” Litotes is a stylistic feature of Old English poetry and of the Icelandic sagas, and it is responsible for …
Litotes usually occurs when a speaker attempts to avoid making an affirmative claim directly, but instead denies its opposite. In this sentence, the negative terms are “not” and “bad.”, The meaning of this sentence is that “that” is actually “good.”. Well, my five year old daughter could do that and let me tell you, she's not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed." (John Barth, "The Bard Award," in. (Allison Janney as Bren in, "[W]ith a vigorous and sudden snatch, I brought my assailant harmlessly, his full length, on the, "Because though no beauty by fashion-mag standards, the ample-bodied Ms. Klause, we agreed, was a not unclever, not unattractive young woman, not unpopular with her classmates both male and female." This is mainly done through double negatives.
Litotes is a form of understatement, more specifically meiosis, and is always deliberate with the intention of emphasis. Definition and Examples of Litotes in English Grammar. "Keep an eye on your mother whom we both know doesn't have both oars in the water." “Indeed, it is not uncommon for laves even to fall out and quarrel among themselves about the relative goodness of their masters, each contending for the superior goodness of his own over that of the others.”. In Spanish, it is usual to say "No es nada tonto" ("It's not at all foolish"), as a form of compliment (i.e., to say something was smart or clever).
'He didn't set the world on fire' conveys exactly the opposite impression: that his efforts didn't heat up Earth one degree, thank goodness" (Word Hero, 2011). Definition, Examples of Figure of Speech, Litotes vs. Understatement and Double Negative. (Jeffrey Jones as Principal Ed Rooney, "I cannot say that I think you are very generous to the ladies; for, whilst you are proclaiming peace and good-will to men, emancipating all nations, you insist upon retaining an absolute power over wives." Italian "meno male" above), meaning literally "less bad," but used in the same way as the English phrases "Thank goodness!" Dr. Richard Nordquist is professor emeritus of rhetoric and English at Georgia Southern University and the author of several university-level grammar and composition textbooks.
Over time, however, 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. After I finished my tests, I went into my doctor’s office, where he told me that Trump’s doctor’s report was ridiculous, since it claimed that his lab results were 'astonishingly excellent' and that he would be 'the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency. Litotes is also found in the New Testament to assert an affirmative by negating the opposite. Litotes is a figure of speech consisting of an understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by negating its opposite. In Chinese, the phrase "不错" (pinyin bù cuò, traditional characters 不錯, literally "not wrong") is often used to present something as very good or correct. However, the interpretation of negation may depend on context, including cultural context.
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 ("Days spent in his home left him unenthused" meaning "he preferred to be out and about").[11]. In Italian, meno male (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. (Abigail Adams, letter to John Adams, May 7, 1776), "Oh, you think you're so special because you get to play Picture Pages up there? Litotes is a figure of speech. Litotes can be used to establish ethos, or credibility, by expressing modesty or downplaying one's accomplishments to gain the audience's favor.
Litotes is most often used in rhetoric and speech. The speaker is trying to state a positive without being too complimentary, because the speaker does not really want to be complimentary. (Ronald Reagan, Farewell Address to the Nation, January 20, 1989), "I also scheduled a physical, since my readers deserve up-to-the-decade information. Understatement is not meant to be taken literally. The heroine, Chimène, says to her lover Rodrigue, who just killed her father: "Va, je ne te hais point" ("Go, I hate you not"), meaning "I love you". It won't be an easy journey."
Litotes is a way to state the affirmative without actually stating the affirmative. However, it’s not really good; or else the speaker would have said that. Litotes is like an understatement in that it makes the intended meaning of the sentence seem less significant. Certain uses of the figure are now fairly common expressions, such as "It's not cheap" (meaning "It's expensive"), "It's not hard" (meaning "It's easy"), and "It's not bad" (meaning "It's good").
Plural: litotes. Jay Heinrichs notes that what makes litotes remarkable is its "paradoxical ability to turn up the volume by turning it down.
Definition and Examples of Irony (Figure of Speech), Transferred Epithet Definition and Examples, Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia, M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester, B.A., English, State University of New York. Litotes is a type of understatement that uses negative words to express the contrary. There are a number of things you can look for in order to identify whether or not a statement is litotes.
or "It's just as well". Winston Churchill's comment, since transformed into a snowclone, that "democracy is the worst form of government except for all the others").
Litotes is often used in rhetoric. It’s chilly out here. For example, when one chances to meet someone after a long time it is usual to say: "Det var inte igår" ("It wasn't yesterday"). [6] Along the same lines, litotes can be used as a euphemism to diminish 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. Similarly, in Dutch, the phrase "niet slecht" (also literally meaning "not bad") is often used to present something as very good or correct, as is German "nicht schlecht".
Cicero uses the word to mean simplicity (or frugality) of life. In Swedish, it is quite common to use litotes. In this way, it is distinct in meaning from the English "not bad" or the general use of the French "pas mal".
", The examples and perspective in this article, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "not so shabby/not too shabby definition, meaning - what is not so shabby/not too shabby in the British English Dictionary & Thesaurus - Cambridge Dictionaries Online", "Litotes: the most common rhetorical device you've never heard of", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Litotes&oldid=974006827, Articles with limited geographic scope from April 2015, Articles with too many examples from August 2015, Wikipedia articles with style issues from August 2015, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Articles needing additional references from August 2015, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, "That [sword] was not useless to the warrior now. Its meaning is not intended to be taken literally. '. ", "He was not unfamiliar with the works of Dickens. Another typical example is "Ce n'est pas bête!"
'Not a bad day's work.'" Define litotes: the definition of litotes is understatement achieved by denying the opposite of an idea. Intended meaning: I don’t have any time for that. ", "The warrior had a use for the sword now. Litotes is confusing because the meaning is not what it seems. A double negative is an expression that uses two negative terms to express a positive. Understatement is a figure of speech that makes something seem less significant or less severe than it actually is. In rhetoric, litotes (/ˈlaɪtətiːz/,[1] US: /ˈlɪtətiːz/ or /laɪˈtoʊtiːz/; also known classically as antenantiosis or moderatour) is a figure of speech and form of verbal irony in which understatement is used to emphasize a point by stating a negative to further affirm a positive, often incorporating double negatives for effect.
Litotes are also a way to skirt an issue or to try to save face. In Welsh, "Siomi ar yr ochr orau" ("To be disappointed on the best side") means "to be pleasantly surprised. (Baroness Emmuska Orczy, "Now we have a refuge to go to. What is double negative? Litotes causes the listener to think and consider the statement. (Jonathan Swift. It is a feature of Old English poetry and of the Icelandic sagas and is a means of much stoical restraint. Wellbeing or Well-Being – Which is Correct? However, litotes is not incorrect grammar, whereas double negatives are improper grammar. [8], The word litotes is of Greek origin, meaning "simple," and is derived from the word litos meaning "plain, small or meager".[9]. In the book Rhetorica ad Herennium litotes is addressed as a member of The Figures of Thought known as deminutio, or understatement.
Examples of Litotes in Literature. Litotes is a figure of speech. The phrase “not uncommon” is an example of litotes.