Antiphrasis

ahd-5
  • noun. The use of a word or phrase in a sense contrary to its normal meaning for ironic or humorous effect, as in a mere babe of 40 years.
  • The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
  • noun. In rhetoric, the use of a word in a sense opposite to its proper meaning, or when its opposite should have been used; irony, used either in sarcasm or in humor.
  • the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
  • noun. The use of words in a sense opposite to their proper meaning; as when a court of justice is called a court of vengeance.
  • Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
  • noun. Use of a word or phrase in a sense not in accord with its literal meaning, especially for ironic or humorous effect
  • WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
  • noun. the use of a word in a sense opposite to its normal sense (especially in irony)
  • Word Usage
    "Paralipsis, also known as praeteritio, preterition, cataphasis, antiphrasis, or parasiopesis, is a rhetorical figure of speech wherein the speaker or writer invokes a subject by denying that it should be invoked."
    Hypernym
    Words that are more generic or abstract