rhetoric Rhetoric () is the art of persuasion, which along with grammar and logic (or dialectic), is one of the three ancient arts of discourse. Rhetoric aims to study the techniques writers or speakers utilize to inform, persuade, or motivate parti ...

, meiosis is a

euphemistic A euphemism () is an innocuous word or expression used in place of one that is deemed offensive or suggests something unpleasant. Some euphemisms are intended to amuse, while others use bland, inoffensive terms for concepts that the user wishes t ...

figure of speech A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from ordinary language use in order to produce a rhetorical effect. Figures of speech are traditionally classified into '' schemes,'' which vary the ordinary ...

that intentionally understates something or implies that it is lesser in significance or size than it really is. Meiosis is the opposite of auxesis, and is often compared to

litotes In rhetoric, litotes (, or ), also known classically as ''antenantiosis'' or ''moderatour'', is a figures of speech, figure of speech and form of verbal irony in which understatement is used to emphasize a point by stating a negative to further a ...

.OED 1st edition The term is derived from the Greek (“to make smaller”, "to diminish").

Examples

;Historical examples *"(Our)

peculiar institution ''The Peculiar Institution: Slavery in the Ante-Bellum South'' is a non-fiction book about slavery published in 1956, by Kenneth M. Stampp of the University of California, Berkeley and other universities. The book describes and analyzes multiple f ...

", for slavery and its economic ramifications in the

American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

. * "The Recent Unpleasantness", used in the 19th century in the southern United States as an idiom to refer to the American Civil War and its aftermath. *"The Emergency", a term used in the Republic of Ireland for the conflict that the rest of the world called the Second World War. *In the ''

Hirohito surrender broadcast The was a radio broadcast of surrender given by Japanese Emperor Hirohito (Shōwa) on August 15, 1945. It announced to the Japanese people that the Japanese Government had accepted the Potsdam Declaration demanding the unconditional surrender o ...

'', the

Japanese emperor The Emperor of Japan is the monarch and the head of the Imperial Family of Japan. Under the Constitution of Japan, he is defined as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, and his position is derived from "the wi ...

said that "the war situation has developed not necessarily to Japan's advantage", a week after the

atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...

. (The original

Classical Japanese The classical Japanese language ( ''bungo'', "literary language"), also called "old writing" ( ''kobun''), sometimes simply called "Medieval Japanese" is the literary form of the Japanese language that was the standard until the early Shōwa pe ...

: ) *"

The Troubles The Troubles ( ga, Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it is sometimes described as an "i ...

", a name for decades of violence in Northern Ireland. ;Other examples *"The Pond", for the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

("across the pond"). Similarly, "The Ditch" for the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...

, between Australia and New Zealand. *"The

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

"; under its original etymology in the late 19th century, this was a meiosis comparison between the vast empty regions of central

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and the backyard of a house; but its usage today is so common and so far distanced from its etymology that the meiosis effect has been lost. *In ''

The Catcher in the Rye ''The Catcher in the Rye'' is an American novel by J. D. Salinger that was partially published in serial form from 1945–46 before being novelized in 1951. Originally intended for adults, it is often read by adolescents for its themes of angst ...

'' by

J. D. Salinger Jerome David Salinger (; January 1, 1919 January 27, 2010) was an American author best known for his 1951 novel ''The Catcher in the Rye''. Salinger got his start in 1940, before serving in World War II, by publishing several short stories in '' ...

, Holden Caulfield says "It isn't very serious. I have this tiny little tumor on the brain." *"Intolerable meiosis!" comments a character in

William Golding Sir William Gerald Golding (19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993) was a British novelist, playwright, and poet. Best known for his debut novel ''Lord of the Flies'' (1954), he published another twelve volumes of fiction in his lifetime. In 1980 ...

's '' Fire Down Below'' as their ship encounters an iceberg after another character comments, "We are privileged. How many people have seen anything like this?"

Notes

References

* Figures of speech Rhetorical techniques ru:Литота#Троп преуменьшения {{rhetoric-stub

Examples

See also

Notes

References