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Double negative

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The use of two negative words to create emphasis or understatement, often for rhetorical effect

Detailed Definition
Double negative is a grammatical construction using two negative elements (e.g., “not unkind”) to produce an affirmative or nuanced meaning; in poetry, it often serves as a form of litotes or understatement, softening assertion while implying complexity—Shakespeare’s “not unwise” suggests cautious approval—thereby adding layers of ambiguity, irony, or rhetorical finesse to the speaker’s voice.
Example
Example in poetry:
“I can’t get no satisfaction” (Mick Jagger/Keith Richards) uses double negative for emphasis; In dialect poetry, “I don’t need no help” expresses refusal through double negative; African American Vernacular English poetry often employs double negatives for rhythmic and semantic effect; Chaucer’s Middle English sometimes uses double negatives for intensification (“ne seyde he nevere a word”)
Additional Notes
Double negative uses two negative elements in a clause for emphasis or stylistic effect (e.g., “I don’t need no help”), common in dialectal speech and some poetic traditions to intensify meaning rather than cancel it out logically.
Also Known As
Affirmative Negation Redundant Denial Paradoxical Affirmation Negated Negation Litotes
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