Writing Notes: Malapropisms
Malapropism - the misuse of a word that has a similar sound to the correct word.
Malapropisms, formerly known as malaprops, can add a comic effect and complexity to speech and written works.
Malapropisms are surprisingly common, particularly within the extensive English vocabulary, and often occur in everyday speech.
Authors will sometimes use them because of their humorous effect as literary devices.
Examples of Malapropisms
Despite their use of an incorrect word, malapropisms are one of the ways that language can be memorable. Below are some examples of malapropisms:
“I reprehend you perfectly.” Here, the correct word is “comprehend,” but “reprehend” is used instead.
“Oswald fired from the book suppository building.” In this case, the correct word is “depository,” but the speaker has substituted the incorrect term “suppository.”
"I don’t want to obliterate you to return the favor". “Obliterate” is being used incorrectly in place of a similar-sounding word: “obligate.”
“A nice derangement of epitaphs.” This is an example of a malapropism from the character Mrs. Malaprop in the play The Rivals. Here, Mrs. Malaprop substitutes “derangement” for “arrangement,” and “epitaphs” for “epithets.”
“She was the very pineapple of politeness.” This additional example from The Rivals has Mrs. Malaprop incorrectly substituting “pineapple” for “pinnacle.”
“Our watch, sir, have comprehended two auspicious persons.” This is from the Shakespeare play “Much Ado About Nothing,” spoken by the character Dogberry. He means to say “apprehended two suspicious persons,” but fumbles the word choice, to comedic effect.
Note that a malapropism is not the same thing as other kinds of errors in the English language. Mondegreens, solecisms, eggcorns, and spoonerisms are other examples of errors or creative rule-breaking that can happen accidentally or be deliberately chosen.
The word “malapropism” comes from Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 1775 play The Rivals.
In this play, the character Mrs. Malaprop frequently misuses incorrect, similar-sounding words for the correct one to humorous effect.
Mrs. Malaprop was likely named after the French phrase “mal à propos,” which translates to “incorrectly or poorly placed.”
In English, the borrowed word is written as “malapropos,” meaning “inappropriate or inappropriately.”
A synonym for “malapropism” is “dogberry,” which also comes from dramatic literature, in this case, William Shakespeare. In Much Ado About Nothing, the character Dogberry frequently utters malapropisms for humor. As a result, a malapropism is sometimes called a “dogberryism.”
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