“Catachresis” comes from the Greek “katakhrēsthai” (“misuse”), but you might mix it up with “catechism,” “a summary of the principles of Christian faith.” While both words have Greek roots, the one we’re concerned with today is a linguistic term. It’s specifically a linguistic misuse, mixing up a word with another term that looks or sounds similar — such as swapping “catachresis” and “catechism.” More commonly swapped words include “elicit” and “illicit,” “precede” and “proceed,” “defuse” and “diffuse,” and “appraise” and “apprise.” All of these pairings might look or sound similar, but the words have distinct meanings, and to use one when you mean to use the other would be catachresis.