litotes

by Paul Niquette
Copyright ©1996 Resource Books All rights reserved.
 

litotes n. A figure of speech in which an affirmative is expressed by the negation of its opposite. 

Here is a word with not insignificant utility, yet not without difficulty.  The use of litotes is not ill advised especially by those who are not unwilling to expend the requisite untrivial effort for clarity and thereby avoid not inconsiderable confusion for not even the least uninformed listener.

 
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