Refine this word faster
Catachresis
//ˌkæt.əˈkɹiː.sɪs// noun
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A misuse of a word; an application of a term to something which it does not properly denote. countable, uncountable
- 2 strained or paradoxical use of words either in error (as ‘blatant’ to mean ‘flagrant’) or deliberately (as in a mixed metaphor: ‘blind mouths’) wordnet
- 3 A misuse of a word; an application of a term to something which it does not properly denote.; Such a misuse involving some similarity of sound between the misused word and the appropriate word. countable, especially, often, uncountable
- 4 A misapplication or overextension of a figurative or analogical description; a wrongly applied metaphor or trope. countable, rhetoric, uncountable
"A Catachresis terms abused receives, And epithets and attributes improper gives."
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Latin catachrēsis, borrowed from Ancient Greek κατάχρησις (katákhrēsis, “misuse (of a word)”).
See also for "catachresis"
Next best steps
Mini challenge
Unscramble this word: catachresis