Standard Lemma guide

litotes

noun · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /laɪˈtəʊ.tiːz/
  • Received-Pronunciation: lītō'tēz
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Received-Pronunciation: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, rhetoric, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: antenantiosis, meiosis, moderatour

Antonyms: hyperbole

Broader terms: irony, understatement, meiosis

2

noun

Meaning 2

A figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite.

The negation of a negative quality to assert a positive.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, especially, rhetoric, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: antenantiosis, meiosis, moderatour

Antonyms: hyperbole

Broader terms: irony, understatement, meiosis

3

noun

Meaning 3

understatement for rhetorical effect (especially when expressing an affirmative by negating its contrary)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • saying `I was not a little upset' when you mean `I was very upset' is an example of litotes

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: meiosis

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: understatement, rhetorical device

History

Etymology

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

Across languages

Translations

29 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: lítote — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Czech: litotes — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Dutch: litotes — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Esperanto: litoto — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Esperanto: maltroigo — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Finnish: litoteesi — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • French: litote — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • German: Litotes — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Greek: λιτότητα (litótita) — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Ancient Greek: λιτότης (litótēs) — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Ido: litoto — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Irish: liotóid — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Italian: litote — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Manx: fo-raa — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Norwegian Bokmål: litot — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Norwegian Bokmål: litotes — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Polish: litota — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Polish: litotes — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Portuguese: litotes — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Russian: лито́та (litóta) — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Serbo-Croatian: литота — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Serbo-Croatian: litota — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Sicilian: lìtuti — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Sicilian: litoti — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Spanish: litote — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Spanish: lítotes — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Spanish: lítote — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Spanish: litotes — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite
  • Tagalog: makumbaba — rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite