Meiosis (figure of speech)

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Meiosis is also a method of cell division. See meiosis.

Meiosis is a figure of speech that intentionally understates something or implies that it is less in significance or size than it really is. It is a form of litotes, but litotes often uses understatement to amplify the importance of something, while meiosis aims to make its subject appear smaller. For example, a lawyer defending a schoolboy who has set fire to his school might call the act of arson a "prank."

It is derived from the Greek mei-o-o (“to make smaller”, "to diminish").

Examples

• After having all his limbs cut off, the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail calls it "just a flesh wound."
• W. C. Fields enters a palatial home, glances up at the ceiling two stories above, and says "Nice teepee."
• "The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." Mark Twain
• "You know, Einstein was not a bad mathematician."
• "I was somewhat worried when the psychopath ran towards me with a chainsaw."

See also

• Auxesis
• Figure of speech
• Litotes