understatement

EnglishEdit

EtymologyEdit

under- +‎ statement

NounEdit

understatement (usually uncountable, plural understatements)

  1. (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.
    Synonym: meiosis
    Antonym: hyperbole
    Hyponym: litotes
    A master of understatement
  2. (countable) An instance of such phrasing or lack of emphasis.
    Now that's an understatement.
    Hyponym: laconism
  3. An incomplete disclosure that intentionally withholds relevant information.

Related termsEdit

TranslationsEdit

DutchEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from English understatement.

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /ˌɑn.də(r)ˈsteːt.mənt/ (the realisation may approximate English pronunciation: /ər/ will often be realised as [ɚ] or [ə])
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: un‧der‧state‧ment

NounEdit

understatement n (plural understatements)

  1. understatement

SynonymsEdit

ItalianEdit

EtymologyEdit

Unadapted borrowing from English understatement.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

understatement m (invariable)

  1. understatement

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ understatement in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)