Definition of Malapropism
malapropism (noun) - the unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar
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How can malapropism be used in a sentence?
Mr. STARR: It's called a malapropism, John used to say.
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nullDid you ever wonder where the word malapropism came from?
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nullA malapropism that is Bushian in it's stupidity from Big Mac.
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nullYou pretend I use a malapropism yet don't list your etymology.
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nullYet no one in the mainstream press seems to have noticed this malapropism.
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nullThe intellect issue is kind -- he has a kind of propensity for malapropism.
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nullSomeday it may take its place in our language alongside malapropism and Bushism.
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nullIndeed, the oft-repeated malapropism of "refudiate" seems to cover it quite well.
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nullMost likely, the term sheath is just another case of your typical Texan malapropism.
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nullThe announcer called the noise "a meaningful semi-silence," which sounds like a malapropism.
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nullJack can't help wincing, just as his mother would, when Joy issues the occasional malapropism.
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nullTo quote my late father Sol, the master of the malapropism, I say to these Republican dummies...
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nullMake hay while the sun shines make my day make no bones about it make-work maladjustment malapropism
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null"I was delighted to find a malapropism last weekend in, of all places, the column of William Safire."
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nullThe explanation behind House File 2028 says it would correct a "malapropism" in the legal description.
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nullWe must be really bored this afternoon to focus on an obvious malapropism or spontaneously fumbled words.
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nullIt was better talk than the moody aloofness of a Chirac, the naive malapropism of a Bush or the sinister Putin.
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nullHe sounds a lot like George W. Bush, and not only because of the malapropism (he meant "foisted," not "hoisted").
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nullThat had me recalling with fondness my late Uncle Marty, a man with a penchant for the Yogi Berra-esque malapropism.
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nullSo, my quibble about the moderation of the former Democrat from Connecticut is not a matter of correcting a malapropism.
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nulla type of slip of the ear in which people mishear a word and mispronounce it, then insist that the malapropism is correct.
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nullPlumly points out the unexpected turn, verging on a malapropism, in Brown's preposition: the disease is on his mind, not in it.
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nullMr. Prescott, a sometime merchant seaman given to malapropism, has served up a salty, profanity-littered account of his decade in office.
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nullI think "could care less" makes sense if it's said sarcastically, but more commonly, I agree with you that it's an irritating malapropism.
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nullAs former Yankees catcher and New York Mets manager Yogi Berra, the master of the malapropism, famously said, "It's deja vu all over again. . ."
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nullIt's bad enough when he does it in his own text; it's far worse when he puts the malapropism in someone else's mouth (who would likely know better).
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nullAlso, any potential malapropism by Biden will be overshadowed by the rest of the debate: Palin being a rambling fool and Biden being experienced and sharp.
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nullFor every malapropism -- "I love James Oil Jerns and Rhonda Linstadt" -- there were a dozen "I'll paint your kitchens" and "I'll drive you to the airports."
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null"Bacon, or whoever corrected the play in 1598, might have corrected" primater "into" pia mater, "unless Bacon intended the blunder for a malapropism of" Nathaniel, a
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nullThe only sudden movements came when the occasional goose, after being fed, whipped its head from side to side like the Aflac duck reacting to a Yogi Berra malapropism.
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null** Of course, I find the word "hobo" extremely funny in general and use it frequently which is almost certainly the cause of Louise's malapropism. posted by Slimbolala link
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nullIronically, it is the malapropism-prone John Prescott's "the green belt is a Labour achievement, and we intend to build on it" that is most likely to pass into the anthologies.
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nullThe fight for the mountains 'main congressional seat is sounding like a combination of Bill Clinton and baseball malapropism master Yogi Berra: It's the economy all over again, stupid.
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nullThe old gentleman, too, had publicly declared that the Fieldhead estate and the De Walden estate were delightfully contagious - a malapropism which rumour had not failed to repeat to Shirley.
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nullHesitation, er and um, repetition, malapropism, round the houses stuff, selective and actual deafness, a thousand languages & dialects...real life would have nothing to do with telling a story.
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nullThe malapropism from Stroger -- whose apparent functional illiteracy is so striking that he makes Mayor Daley sound like Winston Churchill, and George W. Bush sound like Adlai Stevenson -- rang a bell when I heard it.
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nullIt's clearly a form of malapropism, I'm sure it's been around for a long time, I expect it has a name -- but I'm not coming up with the name and would have no idea how to search on it other than scanning through lists of malaprops.
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nullPat Brown too has faded into history, remembered, if at all, for indecision (to which his son reportedly contributed) in the Caryl Chessman execution and for humorous malapropism ( "This is the greatest disaster since my election.")
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nullThey will do what they always do and focus on the malapropism of their opponent (but squeal like stuck pigs when this tactic is used against them a la the Wesley Clark comment re: military service not being a preparation for the presidency).
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nullThere were the original gang members: Jonathan Winters (in character as an aging baseball star); Norm Crosby (master of malapropism); and Shelley Berman (doing his classic rotary-phone call, still dialing a number rather than pressing buttons).
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Tips for Using malapropism in a Sentence
You may have an easier time writing sentences with malapropism if you know what words are likely to come before or after it, or simply what words are often found in the same sentence.
Frequent Predecessors
Words that often come before malapropism in sentences. For example: "a malapropism" or "the malapropism"
- a
- the
- of
- and
- her
- to
- this
- in
Frequent Successors
Words that often come after malapropism in sentences. For example: "malapropism ." or "malapropism is"
- .
- is
- for
- and
- of
- in
- to
- which
- or
- as
Associated Words
Words that aren't necessarily predecessors or successors, but are often found in the same sentence.
- word
- writing
- use
Alternate Definitions
- malapropism (noun) - the act or habit of misapplying words through an ambition to use fine language
- malapropism (noun) - a word so misapplied
- malapropism (noun) - a grotesque misuse of a word; a word so used
