Understatement

 The two main ways that understatements are conveyed is through **Meiosis** and **Litotes**.
 * Understatement: **
 * A figure of speech, and form of irony, in which a writer or speaker deliberately makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is
 * Form of speech in which a lesser expression is used than what would be expected
 * Restraint of lack of emphasis in expression


 * Meiosis**
 * A rhetorical device used to convey understatement for effect or implies that it is less in significance or size than it really is
 * When an author deliberately understates the obvious
 * Example: Calling the Atlantic Ocean "the pond"

  
 * Ex:
 * **"**One mended, when a __tidy__ fit had seized her" - Philip Larkin "Love Songs In Age"
 * By using the word "tidy," Larkin downplays the size of the fit that had caused the woman to ruin the cover of one of her favorite songs.
 * Litotes**
 * A figure of speech in which a certain statement is expressed by denying its opposite
 * An understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary
 * Example: That's not bad. (Instead of That's good/great)