Catachresis

Catachresis (from Greek κατάχρησις, "misuse"), originally meaning a semantic misuse or error, is also the name given to many different types of figures of speech in which a word or phrase is being applied in a way that significantly departs from conventional (or traditional) usage.^[1] Examples of the original meaning include using "militate" for "mitigate", "chronic" for "severe", "travesty" for "tragedy", "anachronism" for "anomaly", "alibi" for "excuse", etc. As a rhetorical figure, catachresis may signify an unexpected or implausible metaphor.^[2]

^ Anshuman Sharma (16 April 2014). The Impact – The Art of Communicating Eloquently. Anshuman Sharma. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-105-99521-7.
^ Lanham, Richard A. (1991). A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 31. ISBN 0-520-07669-9.

[1] Anshuman Sharma (16 April 2014). The Impact – The Art of Communicating Eloquently. Anshuman Sharma. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-105-99521-7.

[2] Lanham, Richard A. (1991). A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 31. ISBN 0-520-07669-9.

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