In modern English, there are some words which have been back-formed relatively recently

Let`s analyze some more examples: “She's not bad looking” (Она неплохо выглядит) could be used to express that someone is gorgeous. Or it could convey that she's not particularly ugly, but also isn't particularly attractive. The degree of emphasis depends on the context in which it is used. For instance, the commonly used phrase “not bad” неплохо) could indicate that something was either average or excellent. Along the same lines, litotes can be used to diminish the harshness of an observation. For instance: “He isn't the cleanest person I know”(Он не самый чистоплотный человек, которого я знаю) could be used as a means of indicating that someone is a messy person”.

Perhaps the most common litotes in Russian is неплохо (not bad). Somewhat uniquely, it is permissible to say something is очень неплохо (very not bad) to signify that it is, in fact, very good. An example of litotes can be found in the Gogol's “The Government Inspector”, in which the Mayor says: “There’s no such thing as a man with no sins on his conscience”(Нет человек, который бы за собою не имел каких-нибудь грехов) meaning “All men have sins on their conscience. In this case, it is used to downplay the Mayor's statement – a euphemism of sorts – making it less harsh than its understood meaning

• Perhaps the most common litotes in Russian is неплохо (not bad). Somewhat uniquely, it is permissible to say something is очень неплохо (very not bad) to signify that it is, in fact, very good. An example of litotes can be found in the Gogol's “The Government Inspector”, in which the Mayor says: “There’s no such thing as a man with no sins on his conscience”(Нет человек, который бы за собою не имел каких-нибудь грехов) meaning “All men have sins on their conscience. In this case, it is used to downplay the Mayor's statement – a euphemism of sorts – making it less harsh than its understood meaning