Entertainment / Literature / Meiosis: Understatement, the opposite of exaggeration: I was somewhat worried when the psychopath ran toward me with a chainsaw. (i.e., I was terrified). Litotes (especially popular in Old English poetry) is a type of meiosis in which the writer uses a statement in the negative to create the effect: You know, Einstein is not a bad mathematician. (i.e., Einstein is a good mathematician.)
Search Google for Meiosis:
Science / Biology / Capsule: 1. Structure produced around certain bacteria; 2. Structure produced by the bryophyte sporophyte that contains spores produced by meiosis. MORE