1. relating to or involving catachresis; using a word or phrase in a way that is not strictly correct or literal, often for rhetorical effect or due to misuse
Usage: formal; literary; rare

Examples

• The poet's catachrestical use of 'devouring time' personified the abstract concept in an unconventional way.
• His catachrestical application of the term 'digital native' to someone born in the 1980s stretched the definition beyond its original meaning.
• The speaker's catachrestical metaphor comparing the economy to a living organism was creative but technically imprecise.
• Critics noted the catachrestical nature of calling a smartphone a 'mobile device' when it performs far more functions than mobility.
• The author employed catachrestical language to challenge readers' conventional understanding of the subject.