as in simile
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for catachresis
Noun
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Along with another allusion to his quip about Lucien’s death, that simile establishes the Anglo-Irish author as a terrifying counter-example of homosexual exposure.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Feb. 2026 -
Consider, for instance, the use of rhetorical figures such as metaphor or simile.—
Nino Letteriello,
Forbes.com,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
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At the same time, because the Soviet state refused to distinguish Jewish victims killed as Jews from the totality of civilian losses during the war, the euphemism ends up naming what it was designed to erase.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026
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The gloves are off, the language is blunter, and the patience for euphemism is gone.—
Seth Abramovitch,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Baseball has a lot of good analogies for fatherhood, even if most of them break down rather quickly.—
Caleb Harris,
Austin American Statesman,
4 Feb. 2026
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That’s the American analogy, where the traditional governing elite of one of the great parties of much of the country committed itself to something not just in the defense of slavery, but to slavery-plus, fortified and amplified by treason.—
David Frum,
The Atlantic,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
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But in terms of its actual content, the statement was pretty thin gruel, bristling with public relations-style circumlocution and vagueness.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Jan. 2026
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Here, instead, she’s swayed by a dead Diana softly squeezing her hand and kindly hinting — the dead Diana is an ace at tactful circumlocution — that now is the time to show a mourning nation some emotion.—
Tom Gliatto,
Peoplemag,
16 Nov. 2023
Noun
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Cats, however, may turn out to be the canaries in the coalmines — pardon the mixed metaphor.—
Jan Ellen Spiegel,
Hartford Courant,
24 Dec. 2024
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The triple-mixed metaphor says it all: Licht & Co. are struggling with the intractable problem of how to square the CNN brand’s promise — straight news — with the entertainment imperatives of nighttime television.—
Erik Wemple,
Washington Post,
22 Dec. 2022
Noun
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Savannah Guthrie seemingly used a code word in a video directed toward her missing mother Nancy Guthrie’s kidnappers, a former FBI agent claims.—
Jason Pham,
StyleCaster,
9 Feb. 2026
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Have a safety plan and a family code word.—
Amelia Mugavero,
CBS News,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 Super Bowl halftime show used a variety of costumes and props as metaphors for America's ongoing racial and political divisions.—
Jamie L. LaReau,
USA Today,
15 Feb. 2026
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For Manuel, the moral universe of the golf course — as well as the game itself — functions as an underlying metaphor for the Philippines’ cycles of political stasis.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Feb. 2026
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“Catachresis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catachresis. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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