Link Centre Dictionary

catachresis

ca·tach·re·sis

UK/ˌkæt.əˈkɹiː.sɪs/ uncommon

noun

1.

strained or paradoxical use of words either in error (as `blatant'' to mean `flagrant'') or deliberately (as in a mixed metaphor: `blind mouths'')

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin catachrēsis, borrowed from Ancient Greek κατάχρησις (katákhrēsis, “misuse (of a word)”).

Related words

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.