catacresis

[kat̪aˈkɾesis]

/[kat̪aˈkɾesis]/ noun

The verdict

“catacresis” is uncommon Spanish (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency Spanish
10
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Tropo que consiste en dar a una palabra sentido traslaticio para designar una cosa que carece de nombre especial; p. ej.: la hoja de la espada; una hoja de papel.

Corpus desk

Index ES-catacresis · catacresis · Spanish

catacresis · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for catacresis
PropertyValue
Headwordcatacresis
LanguageSpanish
Part of speechNoun
IPA[kat̪aˈkɾesis]
Letters10
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Cola larga: rango de “catacresis” en español

catacresisno entra en el top 100.000 del español: zona de términos técnicos, arcaicos o escasos, el terreno típico de la doble comprobación.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

catacresis is uncommon Spanish outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed [kat̪aˈkɾesis]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Tropo que consiste en dar a una palabra sentido traslaticio para designar una cosa que carece de nombre especial; p. ej.: la hoja de la espada; una hoja de papel.".

catacresis has no tracked misspelling variants, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. We don't track a confusable pairing for this entry, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct Spanish form is catacresis, spelled C-A-T-A-C-R-E-S-I-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Tropo que consiste en dar a una palabra sentido traslaticio para designar una cosa que carece de nombre especial; p. ej.: la hoja de la espada; una hoja de papel.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how catacresis appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. «El primer apartado, comienza con el ensayo filosófico de Ana María Martínez de la Escalera titulado “Consideraciones sobre estudios de género, contenidos y efectos” en el que señala la importancia del pensamiento crítico contemporáneo con relación al género, pues esta última categoría corre el riesgo de un proceso de catacresis en el que pierde su sentid…

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "catacresis"?
"catacresis" is spelled C-A-T-A-C-R-E-S-I-S. The IPA pronunciation is [kat̪aˈkɾesis].
What does "catacresis" mean?
As a noun, "catacresis" means: Tropo que consiste en dar a una palabra sentido traslaticio para designar una cosa que carece de nombre especial; p. ej.: la hoja de la espada; una hoja de papel.
How do you pronounce "catacresis"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "catacresis" is [kat̪aˈkɾesis]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "catacresis" come from?
"catacresis" is a Spanish word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list