malapropism

noun mal·a·prop·ism \ ˈma-lə-ˌprä-ˌpi-zəm \

|Updated on: 31 May 2018

1 : the usually unintentionally humorous misuse or distortion of a word or phrase; especially : the use of a word sounding somewhat like the one intended but ludicrously wrong in the context

"Jesus healing those leopards" is an example of malapropism.

2 : malaprop

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malapropist

play \-ˌprä-pist\ noun

See malapropism defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of malapropism from the Web

Helping to set matters straight for Claudio and Hero by uncovering Don John’s ruse is a Keystone Kops assemblage of inept constables in yellow parkas, led by the malapropism-prone Dogberry, portrayed by Simoes.

— don aucoin, BostonGlobe.com, "A ‘Much Ado’ that brings Beyoncé to its battle of wits," 17 Apr. 2018
Arch-villain Stache (Trey Lyford) is a poet full of malapropisms.

— hugh hunter, Philly.com, "'Peter and the Starcatcher' at Theatre Horizon: Unbridled, unpredictable, riotously funny," 4 May 2018
Trump, to borrow George W. Bush’s famous malapropism.

— alexander nazaryan, Newsweek, "Can Donald Trump, the Most Unpopular President Ever, Save Republicans From a Massive Defeat in 2018?," 21 Feb. 2018
Another form of word climbing is mistaking and thereby misusing words owing to their mere sound, and thereby lapsing into malapropism—this to give the impression of cultivation and intellectual penetration.

— joseph epstein, WSJ, "If You’ve Heard One Cliché, You’ve Heard Them All," 13 Dec. 2017
By that measure, Mr. Manafort’s sartorial malapropisms were exactly right.

— vanessa friedman, New York Times, "$1.3 Million for That?," 4 Nov. 2017
This means that her characters often talk in winding syntax replete with malapropisms that would dismay Strunk and White.

— ben brantley, New York Times, "Review: ‘Raw Bacon’ Finds Fearful Poetry in an Iraq War Vet’s Mind," 7 June 2017
Yogi Berra was famous for uttering pithy, off-the-cuff malapropisms, little witticisms that were seemingly contradictory, but also somehow wise.

— Longreads, "A Heart That Watches and Receives," 6 June 2017
David is a well-meaning boob who can’t shoot straight (except by accident, through the seat of his pants) and who talks in greeting-card platitudes and awkward malapropisms.

— richard brody, The New Yorker, "Jared Hess’s Spiritual Gross-Out Comedy, in “Masterminds”," 29 Sep. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'malapropism.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Mrs. Malaprop, a character in Richard Sheridan's 1775 play The Rivals, was known for her verbal blunders. "He is the very pine-apple of politeness," she exclaimed, complimenting a courteous young man. Thinking of the geography of contiguous countries, she spoke of the "geometry" of "contagious countries," and she hoped that her daughter might "reprehend" the true meaning of what she was saying. She regretted that her "affluence" over her niece was small. The word malapropism derives from this blundering character's name, which Sheridan took from the French term mal à propos, meaning "inappropriate."