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• malaprop
  malaprop

  noun

  malapropism.
• Malaprop
  Malaprop

  noun

  Mrs., a character in Sheridan's The Rivals (1775), noted for her misapplication of words.

malaprop

¹ American  

[mal-uh-prop] / ˈmæl əˌprɒp /

noun

1. malapropism.

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Malaprop ² American  

[mal-uh-prop] / ˈmæl əˌprɒp /

noun

1. Mrs., a character in Sheridan's The Rivals (1775), noted for her misapplication of words.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• outmalaprop
  verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of malaprop

First recorded in 1815–25; see origin at Malaprop

Example Sentences

Sheridan's 1775 play The Rivals features Mrs Malaprop exclaiming, "he is the very pineapple of politeness!"

From BBC • Aug. 1, 2020

Malapropisms take their name from the character Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Sheridan’s 1775 play “The Rivals.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 13, 2017

Once again, the text is a bilingual -- or sublingual -- mash-up of Spanish and English that makes Mrs. Malaprop of “The Rivals” seem like a Rhodes scholar.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2015

There's a character in the play named Mrs. Malaprop—her name Malaprop translates from the French as kind of inappropriate—and she's always using the wrong word.

From Slate • Oct. 16, 2012

Mrs. Malaprop herself, in her happiest moments, could not have beaten this inscription.”

From Curious Epitaphs by Various