understatement

English

Etymology

From under- +‎ statement or understate +‎ -ment.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌʌndəˈsteɪtmənt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌʌndɚˈsteɪtmənt/

• Audio (General American):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪtmənt
• Hyphenation: un‧​der‧state‧ment

Noun

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

   Antonyms: auxesis, hyperbole

   Hyponym: litotes

   A master of understatement

   • 2004, Rowan Manahan, Where's My Oasis?:, page 158:

     And that mode of expression is very demurring and self-deprecating. Victorian English was all about understatement.

2. (countable) An instance of such phrasing or lack of emphasis; an incomplete statement.

   Synonym: trivialization

   Antonyms: exaggeration, overstatement

   Hyponym: laconism

   Now that's an understatement.

3. An incomplete disclosure that intentionally withholds relevant information.

Coordinate terms

• do a lot of work
• litote
• to say the least

Derived terms

• misunderstatement

Translations

statement less than complete

Czech: zmírnění n Danish: underdrivelse c Esperanto: maltroigo Finnish: vähätelmä French: litote (fr) f, peu dire (fr) m, rien dire (fr) m German: Untertreibung (de) f, Tiefstapelei f Hebrew: לְשׁוֹן הַמְעָטָה (he) f (leshón ham'atá) Hungarian: enyhe kifejezés, visszafogott megfogalmazás Irish: maolaisnéis f Italian: eufemismo (it) m Polish: niedomówienie n, niedookreślenie n Romanian: litotă (ro) f Russian: преуменьше́ние (ru) n (preumenʹšénije) Spanish: eufemismo (es) m, generosidad (es) f, subestimación (es) f, infravaloración (es) f, minimización (es) f, frivolización f Swedish: underdrift (sv) c

a figure speech often for ironic effect

Spanish: mesura (es) f, comedimiento (es) m

Dutch

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English understatement.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɑn.də(r)ˈsteːt.mənt/ (the realisation may approximate English pronunciation: /ər/ will often be realised as [ɚ] or [ə])

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: un‧der‧state‧ment

Noun

understatement n (plural understatements)

1. (rhetoric) understatement

   Synonym: parabool