malaprop

Also found in: Thesaurus, Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

Related to malaprop: Mrs Malaprop, Dogberryism

mal·a·prop

(măl′ə-prŏp′)

A malapropism.

[After Mrs. Malaprop, , a character in The Rivals, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, from malapropos.]

Word History: "She's as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile" and "He is the very pineapple of politeness" are two of the absurd pronouncements from Mrs. Malaprop that made her name synonymous with ludicrous misuse of language. A character in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play The Rivals (1775), Mrs. Malaprop habitually uses words that are malapropos—that is, inappropriate, as in allegory for alligator and pineapple for pinnacle. She makes some of her most outrageous blunders while boasting of her eloquence: "If I reprehend any thing in this world, it is the use of my oracular tongue, and a nice derangement of epitaphs!" For such memorable abuses of the language, Mrs. Malaprop has been enshrined in the words malaprop and malapropism.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun

malaprop - the unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar

malapropism

misstatement - a statement that contains a mistake

Translations

strafalcione

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

If one could have a fine house, full of nice girls, or go traveling, the summer would be delightful, but to stay at home with three selfish sisters and a grown-up boy was enough to try the patience of a Boaz," complained Miss Malaprop, after several days devoted to pleasure, fretting, and ennui.

View in context

And then I opened the comics where I was immediately greeted by dear old friends Bucky and Satchel, dropping their dollops of malaprop like raisins for my peanut butter toast.

Some not amused by comics lineup changes

Malaprop tries to use impressive words but instead uses ones which sound similar but mean something completely different.

THE RIVALS, CITIZEN'S THEATRE, GLASGOW 05.11.16

Theatre Helen Forrester's Twopence To Cross The Mersey Pyramid & Parr Hall, Palmyra Square South, 01925 442345, - Sat 29 oct The Rivals In the summer streets of Bath, social climber and "pineapple of politeness" Mrs Malaprop is determined to make her niece Lydia Languish a fortuitous match.

WHAT'S ON; News / Reviews CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

A quick example of the malaprop would be to use the word 'affect', a force, when it was proper to use the word 'effect', or results.

Effective ways to promote word power with students

Malaprop in Richard Sheridan's Restoration comedy, The Rivals.

What's so funny? Ask a psychologist

Perhaps Roche intended to be ironic, although since he is often cited as the model for Richard Brinsley Sheridan's fictional Mrs Malaprop, this proposition seems doubtful.

From the archives: Lucian Freud had scant regard for his reputation in his own lifetime, and little interest in the work of his contemporaries. This rigorous pursuit of his ideals isolated him, wrote Giles Auty in March 1992--but it also emphasised his singularity

submarine which sank with the loss of all Malaprop in his play The Rivals?

Quiz of the Day

But although he occasionally seems to be taking elocution lessons from Mrs Malaprop and/or the Reverend Spooner, Gould is nobody's football fool - like Joe Mercer and Bobby Robson, there's more than a touch of the Lieutenant Columbo about our Bobby.

Homecoming for a true Coventry Kid

Malaprop litters her dialogue with humorous errors in usage, such as "He is the pineapple of politeness.

For all "intensive" purposes: a primer on malapropisms, eggcorns, and other rogue elements of the English language

And, as Mrs Malaprop once said, comparisons are odorous - comparisons always are.

THE DEBATE: Time for the council slanging matches to stop; YES

When he is exploring the virtual worm of Second Life, however, he is the avatar Poinky Malaprop.