Noun: catachresis ,ka-tu'kree-sis
- Strained or paradoxical use of words either in error (as ‘blatant’ to mean ‘flagrant’) or deliberately (as in a mixed metaphor: ‘blind mouths’)
"His description of 'deafening silence' is an example of catachresis"
Type of: rhetorical device
Encyclopedia: Catachresis