verbicide
/ˈvɜrbɪsaɪd/
noun
- The act of destroying or distorting the meaning of a word, or a person who does this.
- Using 'literally' to mean 'figuratively' is a common form of verbicide.
- The writer committed verbicide by twisting the original meaning of the term.
- Some people consider slang a kind of verbicide, but others see it as language evolution.