understatement

Stylistic device

Entityrhetorical deviceQ1939210

Also known as understating

Instance of: rhetorical device
Subclass of: figure of speech
1
Sources
1.britannica.com/art/understatement
View statement on Wikidata ↗
, deceptive communication technique

Overview

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · Read full article · Text CC BY-SA 4.0

Understatement is an expression of lesser strength than what the speaker or writer actually means or than what is normally expected. It is the opposite of embellishment or exaggeration, and is used for emphasis, irony, hedging, or humor. A particular form of understatement using negative syntax is called litotes. This is not to be confused with euphemism, where a polite phrase is used in place of a harsher or more offensive expression.

Overview

All data

16 statements · 19% with external sources · numbers in brackets are citations

Opposite of: catastrophizing
exaggeration applies to part: cognitive distortion
Uses: minimisation
Said to be the same as: litotes

On other databases

10 identifiers linking understatement across the web's reference databases

Data quality

statements

19%

externally sourced

Source last edited October 9, 2026. AIDB refreshes this page daily.

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AIDB. (2026). understatement (Q1939210). Retrieved from https://aidb.si/e/understatement-Q1939210