understatement

Noun

Meaning

The act of understating, or the condition of being understated; that which is understated; a statement below the truth.

Source: Webster's dictionary

Synonyms

reserve alternative substitute announcement distortion metaphor restraint affirmation delicacy minimization euphemism underestimate oxymoron meiosis subtlety
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Antonyms

amplification spectacle magnification exaggeration pomp misrepresentation
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Hyponyms

meiosis litotes

Examples

Nothing in a language is less translatable than its modes of understatement. George Steiner

It is an understatement to say that in this society injustices abound: in truth, it is itself the quintessence of injustice. Emil Cioran

You are the finest, loveliest, tenderest, and most beautiful person I have ever known-and even that is an understatement. F. Scott Fitzgerald

Lord Copper quite often gave banquets; it would be an understatement to say that no one enjoyed them more than the host, for no one else enjoyed them at all, while Lord Copper positively exulted in every minute. Evelyn Waugh

A discerning eye needs only a hint, and understatement leaves the imagination free to build its own elaborations. Russell Page

My father was a really funny guy. He lived a good long life. And he was the reason I wanted to be funny and become a comedian and a comedy writer, so to say that he's somewhat of a mythic figure in my life would be an understatement. Carol Leifer

Close letter words and terms

understated understatedly understatedness understater understaund understeer