What is an understatement in literature?
Understatement is the description of something as having much less of a particular quality than it does. That often involves representing something as less important, less valuable, or smaller than it is. Understatement is the opposite of hyperbole, the term that Professor Elena Passarello explains in her video.
What kind of literary device is understatement?
Definition. An understatement is a transitive verb used by writers or speakers in order to intentionally make a situation seem less important or smaller than it is. Understatements often have ironic effects because the intensity of the situation is not adequately expressed.
What is a Litote in literature?
: understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary (as in “not a bad singer” or “not unhappy”)
What is an ironic understatement?
Most of the time when people refer to understatement, they’re referring to ironic understatement, which just means that the speaker is using understatement to say one thing with the intention of actually communicating something quite different.
Is an understatement in a sentence?
To say her filmography, and indeed, her life had been colorful would be something of an understatement . To say that the area is teeming with birds would be an understatement . To say the 1980s were good for Cher is an understatement .
Is litotes double negative?
A litotes by definition is a form of understatement for emphasis through the use of a double negative. Instead of saying, for instance, that the weather is good today, one would employ a litotes by saying that the weather isn’t bad today. For humans, interpreting a double negative is intuitive and easy.
How do you understate?
By definition, an understatement is when you represent something as less than what it is. This can be done in writing or in speech. When you make an understatement, the issue at hand is minimalized or made to seem less important or severe. This can be done for an ironic effect or simply to be polite.
What is an example of understatement?
An understatement is a figure of speech employed by writers or speakers to intentionally make a situation seem less important than it really is. For example, you win 10 million dollars in a lottery. When you tell a news reporter “I am delighted,” you are making an understatement.