catachresis
misuse or strained use of words, as in a mixed metaphor, occurring either in error or for rhetorical effect.
Origin of catachresis
1Other words from catachresis
- cat·a·chres·tic [kat-uh-kres-tik], /ˌkæt əˈkrɛs tɪk/, cat·a·chres·ti·cal, adjective
- cat·a·chres·ti·cal·ly, adverb
Words Nearby catachresis
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use catachresis in a sentence
No expression so terse and yet so striking could dispense with the classicism and the catachresis of "stoically."
A History of English Literature | George SaintsburyIn this sense the proverb is current by a misuse, or a catachresis at least, of both the words, fortune and fools.
Confessions of an Inquiring Spirit | Samuel Taylor ColeridgeIn this sense the proverb is current by a misuse, or a catachresis at least of both the words, Fortune and Fools.
And yet, after a vast deal of such like catachresis, the orthodoxy of plagiarism remains still in dispute.
It is true that might be taken by catachresis to designate a chamberlain as functionary of the Oriental Court.
The Apostles | Ernest Renan
British Dictionary definitions for catachresis
/ (ˌkætəˈkriːsɪs) /
the incorrect use of words, as luxuriant for luxurious
Origin of catachresis
1Derived forms of catachresis
- catachrestic (ˌkætəˈkrɛstɪk) or catachrestical, adjective
- catachrestically, adverb
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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