malapropism
Meanings
Plural: malapropisms
Noun
- the unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar
- The blundering use of an absurdly inappropriate word or expression in place of a similar-sounding one.
- An instance of this; malaprop.
Origin / Etymology
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; inappropriately”), from French mal à propos. 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.
Synonyms
Scrabble Score: 19
malapropism is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordmalapropism is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
malapropism is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 24
malapropism is a valid Words With Friends word