Catachresis - Definition and Overview

Catachresis is the (usually intentional) use of any figure of speech that flagrantly violates the norms of a language community. Compare malapropism.

Common forms of catachresis are:

• Using a word to denote something radically different from its normal meaning.

'Tis deepest winter in Lord Timon's purse – Shakespeare, Timon of Athens

• Using a word out of context.
• Using paradoxical or contradictory logic.
• Creating an illogical mixed metaphor.

To take arms against a sea of troubles... – Shakespeare, Hamlet

Catachresis is often used to convey extreme emotion or alienation, and is prominent in baroque literature and, more recently, in the avant-garde.