Litotes
An understatement that affirms by denying its opposite — 'not bad' meaning 'good'.
Litotes (pronounced LY-toh-teez) is the figure of affirming something by denying its opposite. 'She is not unfriendly' means 'she is friendly.' 'It was not a small accomplishment' means 'it was a major one.'
The figure is a staple of dry, British, and Scandinavian humour, where overt enthusiasm is suspect. It is also a workhorse of diplomatic and academic writing, where it lets the writer make a strong claim while sounding cautious.
Overused, litotes flattens prose into a uniform politeness. Used sparingly, it gives a line a wry edge no straight statement can match.
“He's not a bad singer.”
Keep reading the glossary
Deliberate exaggeration for effect — not meant to be taken literally.
A grammatical balance of two opposed ideas — 'to be or not to be'.
The art of persuasive speaking and writing — the discipline behind every great quoted line.
Aristotle's three modes of persuasion — character, emotion, and reason.