Catachresis

Pronunciation

• RP IPA: en, /ËŒkæt.əˈkɹiː.sɪs/

Alternative forms===

• catechresis, katachresis

Origin

, borrowed from .

Full definition of catachresis

Noun

1. A misuse of a word; an application of a term to something which it does not properly denote.
1. (often, especially) Such a misuse involving some similarity of sound between the misused word and the appropriate word.
2. (rhetoric) A misapplication or overextension of figurative or analogical description; a wrongly-applied metaphor or trope.
• Langley Rhetoric|14|A Catachresis terms abused receives,
  And epithets and attributes improper gives.

Synonyms

• (misuse of a word, regardless of similar sounds) misnomer
• (misuse of a word, with similar sounds) malapropism
• ((rhetoric) bad metaphor or trope) abusio

Related terms

• catachresized
• catachrestic
• catachrestical
• catachrestically