Dictionary
Find
in
Dictionary
Thesaurus
Translations

Click to move up the list of words
Lithuanian
litigant
litigate
litigation
litigious
litmus
litmus paper
litmus test
litotes
litre
Litt.B.
Litt.D.
litter
litter lout
litterbug
littermate
little
Click to move down the list of words
Print Preview
See pronunciation key
Search for "litotes" in all of MSN Encarta
E-mail this entry
Blog about this entry on MSN Spaces
Download the MSN Encarta Right-Click Dictionary

litotes

li·to·tes [ ltə tz, líttə tz, lī tṓ tz ] (plural li·to·tes)


noun 
Definition:
 
understatement for effect: a deliberate understatement, often expressed negatively, as in "I am not unmindful of your devotion"

[Late 16th century. Via late Latin< Greek litotēs< litos "simple"]
Advertisement

Also on Encarta
Englishtown: Learn English online
Our Partners
Also on MSN
Encarta Message Boards (© Rubberball/Jupiterimages)
Shopping
© 2009 Microsoft