What does malaprop mean?
A malaprop is a word substituted for another because the two sound alike, usually producing a ridiculous or revealing error. Common examples include using “complicit” for “complicated” or “bacteria” for “bottles.” The word can refer either to the mistaken expression itself or, by extension, to the broader phenomenon of such verbal confusion. Its tone is generally comic: it is often used when discussing writing deliberately intended to expose pretension, muddled thinking, or unfamiliarity with a difficult word. The expression comes from Mrs Malaprop, an elderly character in Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 1775 comedy The Rivals. She is continually given words that are too elaborate for her and then pronounces them incorrectly, making her errors among the most famous examples of comic verbal stumbling in English. The word remains useful today because it identifies a recognizable source of humor and a common category of mistakes that ordinary spelling and grammar rules alone do not explain.
nounA malaprop is a word or expression misused because it has been confused with a similar-sounding word, often with comic effect. The term also names the character Mrs Malaprop, whose linguistic errors helped popularize the modern sense.
- A word or expression used incorrectly because it has been confused with a similar-sounding word.
- More generally, a humorous or absurd example of such verbal confusion.
"His malaprop—calling a delicate glass dish a “fish plate”—had the audience in stitches."
"The politician’s malaprop—“nuclear” for “unclear”—briefly became the subject of nationwide ridicule."
"Her letter contained several malaprops, including “fort” where she meant “fought.”"
Used for individual mistaken words or expressions.
"The dialogue was full of delightful malaprops and near misses."
The word comes from Mrs Malaprop, a character in Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 1775 play who was forever replacing the right word with one that sounded almost right.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of malaprop
The word was popularized by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in his 1775 play The Rivals, through the character Mrs Malaprop, whose attempts at refined speech repeatedly produce sound-based substitutions. Her surname is generally understood to derive from French mal à propos, meaning “ill at ease” or “out of place,” an apt comment on her misuse of language. From the character’s comic errors, the noun developed into its general name for a word wrongly chosen because it resembles another in sound.
Related word forms
How malaprop is actually used
Usually humorous and mildly critical rather than severe. It is especially associated with deliberate comic writing and the eighteenth-century character Mrs Malaprop, though it is also used for genuine mistakes.
Easily confused with malaprop
A malaprop is a mistaken use of a similar-sounding word, whereas a mondegreen is a mishearing of a phrase or song lyric.
A malaprop is the individual erroneous word or phrase, while a malapropism is the general phenomenon or habit of making such errors.