catachresis
/ˌkæt.əˈkɹiː.sɪs/ noun
Forms catachreses catechresis katachresis
- noun A misuse of a word; an application of a term to something which it does not properly denote.
- noun (often, especially) Such a misuse involving some similarity of sound between the misused word and the appropriate word.
- noun (rhetoric) A misapplication or overextension of a figurative or analogical description; a wrongly applied metaphor or trope.
Synonyms
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin catachrēsis, borrowed from Ancient Greek κατάχρησις (katákhrēsis, “misuse (of a word)”).
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “catachresis”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details