litotes

литота

a two-component structure in which two negations are joined to give a possessive evaluation

- the first component is always the negative particle "not", while the second, always negative in semantics, varies in form from a negatively affixed word (as above) to a negative phrase

Her face was not unpretty. (K.Kesey)

It was not unnatural if Gilbert felt a certain embarrassment. (E.Waugh)

The idea was not totally erroneous. The thought did not displease me. (I.Murdoch)

Source: V.A.K.

••

a) is a stylistic device consisting of a peculiar use of negative constructions: the negation plus noun or adjective serves to establish a positive feature in a person or thing

- is a deliberate understatement used to produce stylistic effect: it is a negation that includes affirmation;

- is a means by which the natural logical and linguistic property of negation can be strengthened;

He found that this was no easy task.

- is used in different styles of speech, excluding those which may be called the matter-of-fact styles, like official style and scientific prose

b) a construction with two negations

not unlike, not unpromising, not displeased

Soames, with his lips and his squared chin was not unlike a bull dog. (J.Galsworthy)

Source: I.R.G.

See: understatement, transference, lexico-syntactical SDs