catachresis
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of catachresis
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin catachrēsis, from Greek katáchrēsis “a misuse or misapplication of a word or phrase” (derivative of katachrêsthai “to misuse”), equivalent to kata- verb prefix implying waste or consumption + chrêsis “use” (noun derivative of chrê(sthai) “to use, need”) + -sis verbal abstract noun suffix. See cata-, -sis
Vocabulary lists containing catachresis
Reading: Literature - Literary Devices & Figures of Speech - High School
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Rhetoric
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
V.—I like that catachresis, but once again I repeat, I am practical, and prefer synedoche.
From Prairie Farmer, Vol. 56: No. 3, January 19, 1884. A Weekly Journal for the Farm, Orchard and Fireside by Various
The stone furze ditches are scarcely bolder instances of the catachresis than the stone tables of shittim-wood.
From Tales and Novels — Volume 04 by Edgeworth, Maria
This journal was, at the period in question, rather remarkable for the use of the figure called by the rhetoricians catachresis.
From Rejected Addresses by Smith, James
‘Liquorish,’ by catachresis for lickerish = tempting to the appetite, causing one to lick one’s lips.
From Milton's Comus by Bell, William
And yet, after a vast deal of such like catachresis, the orthodoxy of plagiarism remains still in dispute.
From The Continental Monthly, Vol. 2, No 3, September, 1862 Devoted to Literature and National Policy. by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
