A statement which actually means the opposite of its surface meaning is called-

• A statement which actually means the opposite of its surface meaning is called Irony.
• The first sentence of Pride and Prejudice is an example of irony:
- ''It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.''
Source: An ABC of English Literature, Dr. M Mofizar Rahman.