UNDERSTATEMENT

understatement

(noun) a statement that is restrained in ironic contrast to what might have been said

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

understatement (usually uncountable, plural understatements)

An incomplete statement, particularly

(uncountable, rhetoric) A figure of speech whereby something is made to seem smaller or less important than it actually is, either through phrasing or lack of emphasis, often for ironic effect; meiosis.

An instance of such phrasing or lack of emphasis.

An incomplete disclosure that intentionally withholds relevant information.

Synonyms

• (rhetorical device): meiosis

Antonyms

• (generally): overstatement

• (rhetorical device): See hyperbole

Hyponyms

• (rhetorical device, stating something by denying its opposite): litotes

• (instance of its use, extreme brevity): laconism

Source: Wiktionary


Un"der*state`ment, n.

Definition: The act of understating, or the condition of being understated; that which is understated; a statement below the truth.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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20 April 2025

SALAD

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Coffee Trivia

Some 16th-century Italian clergymen tried to ban coffee because they believed it to be “satanic.” However, Pope Clement VII loved coffee so much that he lifted the ban and had coffee baptized in 1600.

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