In rhetoric, litotes (, US: ), is a figure of speech and form of irony to emphasize a point by stating a negative to affirm a positive. In speech, litotes may depend on intonation and emphasis; for example, the phrase "not bad" can be intonated differently so as to mean either "mediocre" or "excellent".
In rhetoric, litotes (, US: ), is a figure of speech and form of irony to emphasize a point by stating a negative to affirm a positive. In speech, litotes may depend on intonation and emphasis; for example, the phrase "not bad" can be intonated differently so as to mean either "mediocre" or "excellent".
Source: Wikipedia "Litotes" · CC BY-SA 4.0
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