catachresis

noun /ˌkæt.əˈkɹiː.sɪs/

1. Either of two types of misuse of a word or misapplication of a concept. — A misuse of a word; an application of a term to something which it does not properly denote.

   countable, uncountable

2. 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, uncountable

   Near-synonym: malapropism (precisely hyponymous, in which sense only absurd and laughable catachreses are malapropisms)

3. Either of two types of misuse of a word or misapplication of a concept. — A misapplication or overextension of a figurative or analogical description; a wrongly applied metaphor or trope.

   countable, uncountable

   And epithets and attributes improper gives.

   A Catachresis terms abused receives,

Where it comes from

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

Adapted from the Wiktionary entry catachresis (CC BY-SA 4.0).

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