Transcription
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- UK Pronunciation
- UK IPA
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- [lahy-tuh-teez, lit-uh-, lahy-toh-teez]
- /ˈlaɪ təˌtiz, ˈlɪt ə-, laɪˈtoʊ tiz/
- /laɪˈtəʊ.tiːz/
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- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
-
- [lahy-tuh-teez, lit-uh-, lahy-toh-teez]
- /ˈlaɪ təˌtiz, ˈlɪt ə-, laɪˈtoʊ tiz/
Definitions of litotes word
- noun plural litotes understatement, especially that in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary, as in “not bad at all.”. 1
- noun litotes Ironical understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary (e.g., you won‘t be sorry, meaning you’ll be glad ). 1
- noun litotes understatement for rhetorical effect, esp when achieved by using negation with a term in place of using an antonym of that term, as in "She was not a little upset" for "She was extremely upset". 0
- noun litotes understatement for effect, esp. such understatement in which something is expressed by a negation of the contrary (Ex.: not a few regrets) 0
- noun litotes (rhetoric) An ironic figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite, particularly the negation of a negative quality to say something positive. 0
Information block about the term
Origin of litotes
First appearance:
before 1650 One of the 45% oldest English words
1650-60; < New Latin < Greek lītótēs orig., plainness, simplicity, derivative of lītós plain, small, meager
Historical Comparancy
Parts of speech for Litotes
noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
litotes popularity
A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 68% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.
litotes usage trend in Literature
This diagram is provided by Google Ngram ViewerSynonyms for litotes
noun litotes
- allegory — An allegory is a story, poem, or painting in which the characters and events are symbols of something else. Allegories are often moral, religious, or political.
- allusion — An allusion is an indirect reference to someone or something.
- analogy — If you make or draw an analogy between two things, you show that they are similar in some way.
- anticlimax — You can describe something as an anticlimax if it disappoints you because it happens after something that was very exciting, or because it is not as exciting as you expected.
- antithesis — The antithesis of something is its exact opposite.
Antonyms for litotes
noun litotes
- overstatement — to state too strongly; exaggerate: to overstate one's position in a controversy.
- exaggeration — A statement that represents something as better or worse than it really is.
Top questions with litotes
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See also
Matching words
- Words starting with l
- Words starting with li
- Words starting with lit
- Words starting with lito
- Words starting with litot
- Words starting with litote
- Words starting with litotes