malapropism

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

• Received-Pronunciation: /ˈmæləpɹɒpˌɪzəm/
  Play
• US: mălʹə-prä-pĭzʹ-əm
  Play
• US: /ˈmæləpɹɑpˌɪzəm/
  Play
• US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  Play

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 a classic example of a familiar comedic character archetype who unintentionally substitutes inappropriate but like-sounding words that take on a ludicrous meaning when used incorrectly.

25 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Dutch: verhaspeling — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• Finnish: malapropismi — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• French: abus de langage — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• French: malapropisme — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• French: impropriété — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• German: Wörtervertauschung — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• German: Wortverwechslung — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• German: Verballhornung — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• German: Malapropismus — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• Hungarian: paronimák felcserélése — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• Hungarian: paronimák összekeverése — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• Irish: mífheilteachas — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• Japanese: マラプロピズム (marapuropizumu) — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• Japanese: 言い間違い (iimachigai) — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• Korean: 말라프로피즘 (mallapeuropijeum) — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• Northern Kurdish: xeletbêjî — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• Northern Kurdish: malapropîzm — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• Manx: neuchooieid focklagh — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• Polish: malapropizm — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• Russian: малапропи́зм (malapropízm) — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• Scottish Gaelic: ain-eirmseachd — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• Spanish: gazapo — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• Spanish: malapropismo — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• Spanish: yerro — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression
• Tibetan: ཚིག་བེད་སྤྱོད་བྱེད་སྟངས་ནོར་བ (tshig bed spyod byed stangs nor ba) — the blundering use of a similar-sounding expression