Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Ludicrous misuse of a word, especially by confusion with one of similar sound.
  • noun An example of such misuse.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act or habit of misapplying words through an ambition to use fine language.
  • noun A word so misapplied.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun A grotesque misuse of a word; a word so used.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun uncountable The blundering use of an absurdly inappropriate word or expression in place of a similar sounding one.
  • noun countable An instance of this; malaprop.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From malaprop.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From the name of Mrs. Malaprop, a character in the play The Rivals (1775) by Richard Brinsley Sheridan + -ism. As dramatic characters in English comic plays of this time often had allusive names, it is likely that Sheridan fashioned the name from malapropos ("inappropriate"). Mrs. Malaprop is perhaps the best-known example of a familiar comedic character archetype who unintentionally substitutes inappropriate but like-sounding words that take on a ludicrous meaning when used incorrectly.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word malapropism.

Examples

  • Did you ever wonder where the word malapropism came from?

    Bock The Robber 2010

  • a type of slip of the ear in which people mishear a word and mispronounce it, then insist that the malapropism is correct.

    Eggcorns: Folk Etymology Creating New Meanings Every Day 2006

  • Mr. STARR: It's called a malapropism, John used to say.

    Ringo Starr: The Drums Are Where The Soul Is 2010

  • And it features the kind of malapropism-prone character who says “Toblerone” when he means “testosterone.”

    London Theater Journal: Hitting Bottom - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

  • And it features the kind of malapropism-prone character who says “Toblerone” when he means “testosterone.”

    London Theater Journal: Hitting Bottom - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com 2008

  • Two: a few days ago was the first anniversary of linguist Geoff Pullum's coining of the term 'eggcorns', a particular kind of malapropism that appears linguistically significant because it involves a switch to a wrong, but logical, alternative that is rapidly and widely assimilated into general language.

    Archive 2004-09-01 Ray Girvan 2004

  • Two: a few days ago was the first anniversary of linguist Geoff Pullum's coining of the term 'eggcorns', a particular kind of malapropism that appears linguistically significant because it involves a switch to a wrong, but logical, alternative that is rapidly and widely assimilated into general language.

    Doing the tell Ray Girvan 2004

  • The explanation behind House File 2028 says it would correct a "malapropism" in the legal description.

    DesMoinesRegister.com - NEWS 2010

  • The explanation behind House File 2028 says it would correct a "malapropism" in the legal description.

    DesMoinesRegister.com - NEWS 2010

  • The explanation behind House File 2028 says it would correct a "malapropism" in the legal description.

    DesMoinesRegister.com - NEWS 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.