Litotes

In rhetoric, litotes (/ˈlaɪtətiːz/,US /ˈlɪtətiːz/ or /laɪˈtoʊtiːz/) is a figure of speech that uses understatement to emphasize a point by stating a negative to further affirm a positive, often incorporating double negatives for effect. For example, "He's not bad looking" could express that someone is gorgeous—or could convey that he's neither particularly ugly or attractive. The degree of emphasis depends on context. For instance, the commonly used phrase "not bad" can indicate that something is either average or excellent. Along the same lines, litotes can be used 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.

The term is generally synonymous with meiosis, which means to diminish the importance of something, often at the expense of something else.

Litotes is a form of understatement, always deliberate and with the intention of emphasis. However, the interpretation of negation may depend on context, including cultural context. In speech, it may also depend on intonation and emphasis; for example, the phrase "not bad" can be said in such a way as to mean anything from "mediocre" to "excellent". It can be used to soften harsher expressions, similar to euphemism.

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