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malapropism

American  
[mal-uh-prop-iz-uhm] / ˈmæl ə prɒpˌɪz əm /

noun

  1. an act or habit of misusing words ridiculously, especially by the confusion of words that are similar in sound.

  2. an instance of this, as in “Lead the way and we'll precede.”

malapropism British  
/ ˈmæləprɒpˌɪzəm /

noun

  1. the unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one of similar sound, esp when creating a ridiculous effect, as in I am not under the affluence of alcohol

  2. the habit of misusing words in this manner

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
malapropism Cultural  

  1. A humorous confusion of words that sound vaguely similar, as in “We have just ended our physical year” instead of “We have just ended our fiscal year.”

Discover More

Mrs. Malaprop, a character in an eighteenth-century British comedy, The Rivals, by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, constantly confuses words. Malapropisms are named after her.

Other Word Forms

  • malaprop adjective
  • malapropistic adjective

Etymology

Origin of malapropism

First recorded in 1840–50; Malaprop + -ism

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.