as in simile
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Recent Examples of Synonyms for catachresis
Noun
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Dryden’s famous simile, from La Fontaine’s own century, likens a translator who copies too closely to a man dancing on ropes with fettered legs: careful, precise, but never graceful.—
Jan Steyn,
The Dial,
10 Mar. 2026 -
Salazar-Thompson’s witty script — packed with hilarious metaphors and similes (like comparing a woman’s firm grip on her purse to that of a two-toed sloth on a branch) — make for a consistently amusing trip back in time.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Special military operation is Russia’s official euphemism for the country’s invasion of Ukraine.—
Ashley Belanger,
ArsTechnica,
30 Apr. 2026
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Discussing why people use euphemisms online prepares children to pause and ask questions when unfamiliar terms appear.—
Sharlette A. Kellum,
The Conversation,
6 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Ming-Yu Liu, a vice president at Nvidia’s Cosmos Lab, shared a more cinematic analogy, pointing to The Matrix, in which the main character learns kung fu inside a simulated world.—
Sharon Goldman,
Fortune,
20 May 2026
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The psychologist found these analogies interesting.—
Weike Wang,
New Yorker,
17 May 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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Sampson says her family now uses a code word.—
Mike Winters,
CNBC,
9 May 2026
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But according to a report Wander, a luxury vacation rental company, shared with Travel +Leisure via email, there are also several unofficial phrases and code words that may be used in the air.—
Lydia Mansel,
Travel + Leisure,
20 Apr. 2026
Noun
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As industrialization advanced, the factory replaced the wheel of fortune as a metaphor for how things happen in the world.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
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Lear conceived Mary Hartman, the woman, as a metaphor for the condition of America itself.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 May 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Catachresis.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/catachresis. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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