catachresis

American  

[kat-uh-kree-sis] / ˌkæt əˈkri sɪs /

noun

1. misuse or strained use of words, as in a mixed metaphor, occurring either in error or for rhetorical effect.

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catachresis British  

/ ˌkætəˈkriːsɪs, ˌkætəˈkrɛstɪk /

noun

1. the incorrect use of words, as luxuriant for luxurious

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Other Word Forms

• catachrestic adjective
• catachrestical adjective
• catachrestically adverb

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

Example Sentences

"The fury of his fancy often transported him beyond the bounds of judgment, either in coining of new words and phrases, or racking words which were in use, into the violence of catachresis."

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 57, No. 352, February 1845 by Various

In this sense the proverb is current by a misuse, or a catachresis at least of both the words, Fortune and Fools.

From The Best of the World's Classics, Vol. V (of X) - Great Britain and Ireland III by Lodge, Henry Cabot

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

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

You must listen to the definition of a catachresis:—'A catachresis is the boldest of any trope.

From Tales and Novels — Volume 04 by Edgeworth, Maria

Related Words

• corruption
• exploitation
• harm
• maltreatment
• mistreatment
• prostitution
• squandering
• waste