noun
- misuse or strained use of words, as in a mixed metaphor, occurring either in error or for rhetorical effect.
noun
- the incorrect use of words, as luxuriant for luxurious
1580s, from Latin catachresis, from Greek katakhresis “misuse” (of a word), from katakhresthai “to misuse,” from kata- “down” (here with a sense of “perversion;” see cata-) + khresthai “to use” (see hortatory). Related: Catachrestic; catachrestical; catachrestically.