"litotes" meaning in English

See litotes in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: /laɪˈtəʊ.tiːz/ [Received-Pronunciation] Audio: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-litotes.wav , Litotes.ogg Forms: litotes [plural]
enPR: lītō'tēz [Received-Pronunciation] Etymology: Learned borrowing from Late Latin lītotēs, from Ancient Greek λιτότης (litótēs, literally “plainness”), from λιτός (litós, “simple”). Etymology templates: {{lbor|en|LL.|lītotēs}} Learned borrowing from Late Latin lītotēs, {{der|en|grc|λιτότης|lit=plainness}} Ancient Greek λιτότης (litótēs, literally “plainness”) Head templates: {{en-noun|~|litotes}} litotes (countable and uncountable, plural litotes)
  1. (rhetoric) A figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite. Tags: countable, rhetoric, uncountable Synonyms: antenantiosis, meiosis, moderatour Hypernyms: irony, understatement, meiosis
    Sense id: en-litotes-en-noun-389BJwMk Categories (other): Rhetoric, Figures of speech Disambiguation of Figures of speech: 47 53
  2. (rhetoric) A figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite.
    (especially) The negation of a negative quality to assert a positive.
    Tags: countable, especially, rhetoric, uncountable Synonyms: antenantiosis, meiosis, moderatour Hypernyms: irony, understatement, meiosis
    Sense id: en-litotes-en-noun-Uw9fIKug Categories (other): Rhetoric, English entries with incorrect language header, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 8 entries, Pages with entries, Terms with Ancient Greek translations, Terms with Catalan translations, Terms with Czech translations, Terms with Dutch translations, Terms with Esperanto translations, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with French translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Greek translations, Terms with Ido translations, Terms with Irish translations, Terms with Italian translations, Terms with Manx translations, Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations, Terms with Polish translations, Terms with Portuguese translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations, Terms with Sicilian translations, Terms with Spanish translations, Terms with Tagalog translations, Figures of speech Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 30 70 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 29 71 Disambiguation of Pages with 8 entries: 28 72 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 29 71 Disambiguation of Terms with Ancient Greek translations: 30 70 Disambiguation of Terms with Catalan translations: 29 71 Disambiguation of Terms with Czech translations: 35 65 Disambiguation of Terms with Dutch translations: 30 70 Disambiguation of Terms with Esperanto translations: 29 71 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 29 71 Disambiguation of Terms with French translations: 30 70 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 29 71 Disambiguation of Terms with Greek translations: 27 73 Disambiguation of Terms with Ido translations: 27 73 Disambiguation of Terms with Irish translations: 29 71 Disambiguation of Terms with Italian translations: 37 63 Disambiguation of Terms with Manx translations: 29 71 Disambiguation of Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations: 31 69 Disambiguation of Terms with Polish translations: 30 70 Disambiguation of Terms with Portuguese translations: 42 58 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 29 71 Disambiguation of Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations: 35 65 Disambiguation of Terms with Sicilian translations: 29 71 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 27 73 Disambiguation of Terms with Tagalog translations: 29 71 Disambiguation of Figures of speech: 47 53
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Derived forms: litotic, litotical, litotically Related terms: paradiastole, double negative Translations (rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite): λιτότης (litótēs) [feminine] (Ancient Greek), lítote [feminine] (Catalan), litotes [masculine, neuter] (Czech), litotes [feminine, masculine] (Dutch), litoto (Esperanto), maltroigo (Esperanto), litoteesi (Finnish), litote [feminine] (French), Litotes [feminine] (German), λιτότητα (litótita) (Greek), litoto (Ido), liotóid [feminine] (Irish), litote [feminine] (Italian), fo-raa [masculine] (Manx), litot [masculine] (Norwegian Bokmål), litotes [masculine] (Norwegian Bokmål), litota [feminine] (Polish), litotes [masculine] (Polish), litotes [feminine] (Portuguese), лито́та (litóta) [feminine] (Russian), литота [Cyrillic, feminine] (Serbo-Croatian), litota [Latin, feminine] (Serbo-Croatian), lìtuti [feminine] (Sicilian), litoti [feminine] (Sicilian), litote [feminine] (Spanish), lítotes [feminine] (Spanish), makumbaba (Tagalog)
Disambiguation of 'rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite': 50 50
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  "derived": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "litotic"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0",
      "word": "litotical"
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      "_dis1": "0 0",
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    {
      "args": {
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        "2": "LL.",
        "3": "lītotēs"
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      "name": "lbor"
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    {
      "parts": [
        "li",
        "to",
        "tes"
      ]
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      "_dis1": "0 0",
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          "ref": "1895, William Congreve, “Introduction”, in G. S. Street, editor, The Comedies of William Congreve, volume 1, Methuen and Co.:",
          "text": "The delicacy which prompts a later generation to reject that name is by no means necessarily a result of stricter habits, is far more often due to the flatness which comes of untiring repetition and to the greater piquancy of litotes.",
          "type": "quote"
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        "A figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite."
      ],
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          "word": "irony"
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        {
          "word": "meiosis"
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        "(rhetoric) A figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite."
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        "A figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite.",
        "The negation of a negative quality to assert a positive."
      ],
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        {
          "word": "irony"
        },
        {
          "word": "understatement"
        },
        {
          "word": "meiosis"
        }
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        [
          "state",
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        [
          "deny",
          "deny"
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        [
          "opposite",
          "opposite"
        ],
        [
          "negation",
          "negation"
        ],
        [
          "negative",
          "negative"
        ],
        [
          "quality",
          "quality"
        ],
        [
          "assert",
          "assert"
        ],
        [
          "positive",
          "positive"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rhetoric) A figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite.",
        "(especially) The negation of a negative quality to assert a positive."
      ],
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        {
          "word": "antenantiosis"
        },
        {
          "word": "meiosis"
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        {
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    {
      "ipa": "/laɪˈtəʊ.tiːz/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
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      "enpr": "lītō'tēz",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
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  "translations": [
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "lang_code": "ca",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "lítote"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "lang_code": "cs",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "masculine",
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "litotes"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "lang_code": "nl",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "litotes"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "lang_code": "eo",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "word": "litoto"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "lang_code": "eo",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "word": "maltroigo"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "word": "litoteesi"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "litote"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Litotes"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "lang_code": "el",
      "roman": "litótita",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "word": "λιτότητα"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "grc",
      "lang": "Ancient Greek",
      "lang_code": "grc",
      "roman": "litótēs",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "λιτότης"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "io",
      "lang": "Ido",
      "lang_code": "io",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "word": "litoto"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "lang_code": "ga",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "liotóid"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "litote"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "gv",
      "lang": "Manx",
      "lang_code": "gv",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "fo-raa"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "lang_code": "nb",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "litot"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "lang_code": "nb",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "litotes"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "litota"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "litotes"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "litotes"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "roman": "litóta",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "лито́та"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "lang_code": "sh",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic",
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "литота"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "lang_code": "sh",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "Latin",
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "litota"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "scn",
      "lang": "Sicilian",
      "lang_code": "scn",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "lìtuti"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "scn",
      "lang": "Sicilian",
      "lang_code": "scn",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "litoti"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "litote"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "lítotes"
    },
    {
      "_dis1": "50 50",
      "code": "tl",
      "lang": "Tagalog",
      "lang_code": "tl",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "word": "makumbaba"
    }
  ],
  "word": "litotes"
}
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    "Terms with Catalan translations",
    "Terms with Czech translations",
    "Terms with Dutch translations",
    "Terms with Esperanto translations",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with French translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Greek translations",
    "Terms with Ido translations",
    "Terms with Irish translations",
    "Terms with Italian translations",
    "Terms with Manx translations",
    "Terms with Norwegian Bokmål translations",
    "Terms with Polish translations",
    "Terms with Portuguese translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Serbo-Croatian translations",
    "Terms with Sicilian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations",
    "Terms with Tagalog translations",
    "en:Figures of speech"
  ],
  "derived": [
    {
      "word": "litotic"
    },
    {
      "word": "litotical"
    },
    {
      "word": "litotically"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "LL.",
        "3": "lītotēs"
      },
      "expansion": "Learned borrowing from Late Latin lītotēs",
      "name": "lbor"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "grc",
        "3": "λιτότης",
        "lit": "plainness"
      },
      "expansion": "Ancient Greek λιτότης (litótēs, literally “plainness”)",
      "name": "der"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Learned borrowing from Late Latin lītotēs, from Ancient Greek λιτότης (litótēs, literally “plainness”), from λιτός (litós, “simple”).",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "litotes",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~",
        "2": "litotes"
      },
      "expansion": "litotes (countable and uncountable, plural litotes)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "hyphenations": [
    {
      "parts": [
        "li",
        "to",
        "tes"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "paradiastole"
    },
    {
      "word": "double negative"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "hyperbole"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "en:Rhetoric"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              226,
              233
            ]
          ],
          "ref": "1895, William Congreve, “Introduction”, in G. S. Street, editor, The Comedies of William Congreve, volume 1, Methuen and Co.:",
          "text": "The delicacy which prompts a later generation to reject that name is by no means necessarily a result of stricter habits, is far more often due to the flatness which comes of untiring repetition and to the greater piquancy of litotes.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite."
      ],
      "hypernyms": [
        {
          "word": "irony"
        },
        {
          "word": "understatement"
        },
        {
          "word": "meiosis"
        }
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "rhetoric",
          "rhetoric"
        ],
        [
          "figure of speech",
          "figure of speech"
        ],
        [
          "something",
          "something"
        ],
        [
          "state",
          "state"
        ],
        [
          "deny",
          "deny"
        ],
        [
          "opposite",
          "opposite"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rhetoric) A figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "antenantiosis"
        },
        {
          "word": "meiosis"
        },
        {
          "word": "moderatour"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "rhetoric",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    },
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "hyperbole"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "English terms with quotations",
        "en:Rhetoric"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite.",
        "The negation of a negative quality to assert a positive."
      ],
      "hypernyms": [
        {
          "word": "irony"
        },
        {
          "word": "understatement"
        },
        {
          "word": "meiosis"
        }
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "rhetoric",
          "rhetoric"
        ],
        [
          "figure of speech",
          "figure of speech"
        ],
        [
          "something",
          "something"
        ],
        [
          "state",
          "state"
        ],
        [
          "deny",
          "deny"
        ],
        [
          "opposite",
          "opposite"
        ],
        [
          "negation",
          "negation"
        ],
        [
          "negative",
          "negative"
        ],
        [
          "quality",
          "quality"
        ],
        [
          "assert",
          "assert"
        ],
        [
          "positive",
          "positive"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(rhetoric) A figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite.",
        "(especially) The negation of a negative quality to assert a positive."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "antenantiosis"
        },
        {
          "word": "meiosis"
        },
        {
          "word": "moderatour"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "especially",
        "rhetoric",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/laɪˈtəʊ.tiːz/",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "enpr": "lītō'tēz",
      "tags": [
        "Received-Pronunciation"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "LL-Q1860 (eng)-Wodencafe-litotes.wav",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b7/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-litotes.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-litotes.wav.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/b/b7/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-litotes.wav/LL-Q1860_%28eng%29-Wodencafe-litotes.wav.ogg"
    },
    {
      "audio": "Litotes.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/d/da/Litotes.ogg/Litotes.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Litotes.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ca",
      "lang": "Catalan",
      "lang_code": "ca",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "lítote"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "lang_code": "cs",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "masculine",
        "neuter"
      ],
      "word": "litotes"
    },
    {
      "code": "nl",
      "lang": "Dutch",
      "lang_code": "nl",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine",
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "litotes"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "lang_code": "eo",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "word": "litoto"
    },
    {
      "code": "eo",
      "lang": "Esperanto",
      "lang_code": "eo",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "word": "maltroigo"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "lang_code": "fi",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "word": "litoteesi"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "lang_code": "fr",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "litote"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "lang_code": "de",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Litotes"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "lang_code": "el",
      "roman": "litótita",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "word": "λιτότητα"
    },
    {
      "code": "grc",
      "lang": "Ancient Greek",
      "lang_code": "grc",
      "roman": "litótēs",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "λιτότης"
    },
    {
      "code": "io",
      "lang": "Ido",
      "lang_code": "io",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "word": "litoto"
    },
    {
      "code": "ga",
      "lang": "Irish",
      "lang_code": "ga",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "liotóid"
    },
    {
      "code": "it",
      "lang": "Italian",
      "lang_code": "it",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "litote"
    },
    {
      "code": "gv",
      "lang": "Manx",
      "lang_code": "gv",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "fo-raa"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "lang_code": "nb",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "litot"
    },
    {
      "code": "nb",
      "lang": "Norwegian Bokmål",
      "lang_code": "nb",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "litotes"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "litota"
    },
    {
      "code": "pl",
      "lang": "Polish",
      "lang_code": "pl",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "litotes"
    },
    {
      "code": "pt",
      "lang": "Portuguese",
      "lang_code": "pt",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "litotes"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "lang_code": "ru",
      "roman": "litóta",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "лито́та"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "lang_code": "sh",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "Cyrillic",
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "литота"
    },
    {
      "code": "sh",
      "lang": "Serbo-Croatian",
      "lang_code": "sh",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "Latin",
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "litota"
    },
    {
      "code": "scn",
      "lang": "Sicilian",
      "lang_code": "scn",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "lìtuti"
    },
    {
      "code": "scn",
      "lang": "Sicilian",
      "lang_code": "scn",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "litoti"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "litote"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "lang_code": "es",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "lítotes"
    },
    {
      "code": "tl",
      "lang": "Tagalog",
      "lang_code": "tl",
      "sense": "rhetoric: stating a point by denying its opposite",
      "word": "makumbaba"
    }
  ],
  "word": "litotes"
}

Download raw JSONL data for litotes meaning in English (9.1kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-08-29 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-08-23 using wiktextract (ffdbfc3 and b9346a0). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.