noun. The substitution of a title or epithet for a proper name, as in calling a sovereign “Your Majesty.”

noun. The substitution of a personal name for a common noun to designate a member of a group or class, as in calling a traitor a “Benedict Arnold.”

noun. In rhetoric, the substitution of an epithet, or of the appellative of some office, dignity, profession, science, or trade, for the true name of a person, as when his majesty is used for a king, his lordship for a nobleman, or the philosopher for Aristotle; conversely, the use of a proper noun in the place of a common noun: as, a Cato for a man of severe gravity, or a Solomon for a wise man.

noun. The use of some epithet or the name of some office, dignity, or the like, instead of the proper name of the person; as when his majesty is used for a king, or when, instead of Aristotle, we say, the philosopher; or, conversely, the use of a proper name instead of an appellative, as when a wise man is called a Solomon, or an eminent orator a Cicero.

noun. The substitution of an epithet or title in place of a proper noun

noun. Use of a proper name to suggest its most obvious quality or aspect.

"It is not for Mr. Buckley to admit to an inattentive memory and careless writing when the polysyllabic evasion of "antonomasia" is available."