Malapropism Definition

mălə-prŏp-ĭzəm

malapropisms

noun

malapropisms

Ludicrous misuse of words, esp. through confusion caused by resemblance in sound.

Webster's New World

An example of such misuse.

American Heritage

An instance of this (Ex.: progeny for prodigy)

Webster's New World

(countable) An instance of this; malaprop.

The translator matched every malapropism in the original with one from his own language.

The humor comes from all the malapropisms.

Wiktionary

Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Malapropism

Singular:

malapropism

Plural:

malapropisms

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"). 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.

From Wiktionary
From malaprop

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition