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Glite Dictionary
malaprop

malaprop

1 9.8
Using a wrong word that sounds like the right one makes people laugh
  • noun
  • /ˈmæləˌprɑp/
translation icon : malaprop
  • Mrs. Malaprop: There, sir, an attack upon my language!

Examples

  • The comedian's talent for malaprops added a unique charm to his stand-up routine.

  • His misuse of words was so amusing that we couldn't help but laugh at his malaprops.

  • The charm and humor of her unintentional malaprops were too great.

    Academic text (1996)

  • My sister has a tin ear for the language, and over the years she has provoked a lot of laughter with malaprops.

    Blog text (29)

  • At one point in Sheridan's The Rivals, that infamous lexicographer Mrs. Malaprop engagingly declares: "O, there's nothing to be hoped for from her!"

    Academic text (1990)

  • And then there's the mother of the term "malapropism"—Mrs. Malaprop from Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play, "The Rivals."

    Blog text (29)

  • Her frequent malaprops always made everyone laugh during family dinners.

Synonyms

malapropism
vsmalaprop
1 9.6

A mistake of using a wrong word that sounds like the right one and makes people laugh

is the shorter informal form used in casual speech

Surface Forms

malaprop singular
malaprops plural

Etymology

Malaprop comes from a comic character, Mrs. Malaprop, in a play who often mixed up words. Her name is from French mal à propos meaning 'badly suited' or 'not appropriate', so a malaprop is a wrong word used by mistake that often sounds funny.