litotes vs paradox

litotes

noun
  • An ironic figure of speech whereby something is stated by denying its opposite, particularly the negation of a negative quality to say something positive. 

paradox

noun
  • The use of counterintuitive or contradictory statements (paradoxes) in speech or writing. 

  • A claim that two apparently contradictory ideas are true. 

  • An unanswerable question or difficult puzzle, particularly one which leads to a deeper truth. 

  • An apparently self-contradictory statement, which can only be true if it is false, and vice versa. 

  • A state in which one is logically compelled to contradict oneself. 

  • A person or thing having contradictory properties. 

  • A counterintuitive conclusion or outcome. 

  • A thing involving contradictory yet interrelated elements that exist simultaneously and persist over time. 

  • The practice of giving instructions that are opposed to the therapist's actual intent, with the intention that the client will disobey or be unable to obey. 

How often have the words litotes and paradox occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )