MALAPROPISM - Meaning and Examples
Imagine you attended the interment of a close buddy and while it was time to lay the corpse to rest, the father of the deceased in a final remark said:
Now that the 'funeral rights' are complete, I say goodbye
Read that again!
Now you see that the term 'funeral rights' should have been replaced with 'funeral rites' and though they sound same yet they possess different meanings. This occurrence is what we term 'malapropism'.
What is Malapropism?
According to the Oxford Advanced Learners English Dictionary:
- the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with an amusing effect (e.g. ‘dance a flamingo ’ instead of flamenco ).
Brief history of Malapropism
The word "malapropism" (and its earlier variant "malaprop") comes from a character named "Mrs. Malaprop" in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 1775 play The Rivals.[2] Mrs. Malaprop frequently misspeaks (to comic effect) by using words which do not have the meaning that she intends but which sound similar to words that do. Sheridan presumably chose her name in humorous reference to the word malapropos, an adjective or adverb meaning "inappropriate" or "inappropriately", derived from the French phrase mal à propos (literally "poorly placed"). According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the first recorded use of "malapropos" in English is from 1630,[3] and the first person known to have used the word "malaprop" in the sense of "a speech error" is Lord Byron in 1814.[4]
The synonymous term "Dogberryism" comes from the 1598 Shakespeare play Much Ado About Nothing in which the character Dogberry utters many malapropisms to humorous effect.[5] Though Shakespeare was an earlier writer than Sheridan, "malaprop/malapropism" seems an earlier coinage than "Dogberryism", which is not attested until 1836.[6]
Examples of Malaprops
Malaprops are commonly confused or misused words. This misuse emanates from the fact that these words have similar spellings and pronunciation pattern but they usually convey different meanings. Many a time, this error occurs when a word is used in the context that is meant for either a similarly sounding or spelled word. Consider the following examples:
Example 1: The manager refused to give his accent [instead of “assent”]
Example 2: The barren woman decided to adept [instead of “adopt”] a child
Example 3: The class teacher sited lots of instances [instead of “cited”]
How to Avoid Malapropism
I strongly believe that the first and most important start to conscious and permanent abstinence from this error is a wide exposure to 'similar sounding words' and their 'varying meanings'. As you exhaust the list below and more, you should be getting set for a 'malaprop-free life' (chuckles).
Abstract: To deduct
Extract: To take out
Accent: one’s pattern of pronunciation
Assent: To give your approval
Ascent: To move or go up
Acceptance: To receive
Acceptation: Recognized interpretation
Access: Entrance
Excess: more than is needed
Assess: To estimate the value of something
Adapt: To make adjustments/to cope
Adopt: To take, select or choose
Adept: To skillful, expert or experienced
Affection: Feelings, love
Affectation: Pretence, Disguise, Camouflage
Allusion: Reference
Illusion: Deception
Alternate: to use two things interchangeably
Alternative: one or another, options, choices
Adherence: To obey a principle or belief
Adhesion: Attachment
Adverse: harmful, deleterious, inimical
Averse: Aversion, dislike
Affect: To change or alter something
Effect: To bring about or initiate a change
Compliments: Greetings
Compliment: Praises/Encomiums
Complement: one’s ability to complete
Comprehensive: much/excessive
Comprehensible: can be understood/grasped
Confidant: A trusted friend [usually a male]
Confidante: A trusted female friend
Confident: Sure, Certain
Confidential: Not to be disclosed
Deplete: Dearth, lack
Replete: To be filled with something
Apathy: Uninterested
Antipathy: Dislike, aversion
Apposite: Opportune, suitable, appropriate
Opposite: Contrary
Composite: Containing several parts
Appreciable: Can be estimated or costed
Appreciative: A feeling of gratitude
Ascetic: Leading a simple life
Aesthetic: Artistic
Eclectic: Broad, versatile
Aspirant: one who desires to become something
Aspirate: To suck in air, to remove, sound of ‘h’
Attenuate: to weaken, lessen, fade, reduce
Extenuate: Mitigate, palliate
Audible: can be heard
Auditory: sense of hearing
Avert: to avoid, ward off, stave off, debar
Invert: to turn upside down
Barbarism: Uncivilized condition
Barbarity: Cruelty, wickedness
Beneficial: Advantageous, good
Beneficent: Generous, benignant, helpful
Benevolent: Generous, philanthropic
Benefactor: a person who gives money to others
Beneficiary: one who gains/receives something
Capture: Seize, grab, conquer, catch, get
Captivate: To charm, beguile, enamour
Ceremonious: carried out formally
Ceremonial: relating to/used in a ceremony
Collision: to hit, conflict, clash
Collusion: a secret agreement, connivance
Comity: courtesy
Committee: a body of persons
Considerable: Large, enormous proportions
Considerate: Kind, unselfish, thoughtful
Constant: Unchanging
Consistent: Accordant, coherent, logical
Construe: To translate or interpret
Construct: To build
Misconstrue: To Misinterpret/Misunderstand
Contemptible: Ignoble, shameful
Contemptuous: Disrespectful, insulting
Contiguous: adjoining, close, proximal
Contagious: infectious
Covert: furtive, secret, clandestine
Overt: open, done publicly
Corporal: Bodily, somatic, corp.
Corporeal: material, physical
Credible: Believable
Creditable: Honourable
Denounce: to condemn, vilify, denunciate
Renounce: abdicate, relinquish, disavow
Decry: to criticize, vilify
Descry: to suddenly see someone/something
Deduct: to subtract, minus
Deduce: to infer
Deliverance: rescue, to save
Delivery: to hand something over to another
Dependence: Reliance
Dependency: A colony
Credulity: eagerness to believe
Credibility: believability
Complication: Difficulty
Complicity: Partnership in crime
Discomfort: to make one uncomfortable
Discomfit: to make one feel confused
Disparity: inequality
Disparage: to decry, cry down, defamate
Disposal: To do away with something
Disposition: temperament, inclination
Duplication: to make more of something
Duplicity: deceitful
Eliminate: to remove
Illuminate: to make clear or bright
Elicit: to draw out, educe, evoke
Illicit: illegal, unlawful
Elusive: hard to find, define or achieve
Illusive: deceptive
Delusive: unreal, false, fake, imaginary
Emigrate: to leave your own country
Immigrate: to settle in a foreign land
Immanent: omnipresent, ubiquitous
Eminent: famous, distinguished
Imminent: threatening, impending
Equity: fairness
Equitation: horseback riding
Equivalent: equal in value
Equivocal: ambiguous/unclear/hazy
Deprecate: not to approve of something
Depreciate: to reduce, wane, decline
Destiny: Fate
Destination: Goal, Target
Expanse: Extent
Expansion: Extension
Exotic: Foreign
Esoteric: known by few (hard to understand)
Exoteric: known by a few (can be understood)
Expediency: useful, beneficial
Expeditious: speed, celerity, quickness
Exposition: Explanation
Exposure: Display, showcase
Extract: to evoke, educe, elicit
Extricate: to release, free
Factitious: Artificial, bogus, pseudo, fake
Fictitious: Imaginary
Faculty: Power. module
Facility: readiness, quickness, adeptness
Fatalism: predetermination of events/outcome
Fatality: Calamity
Fatal: Involving death
Fatalist: one who believes he is powerless
Flagrant: Openly shocking, egregious
Fragrant: Sweet-smelling, aroma, scent
Funeral: relating to burial (a ceremony)
Funereal: gloomy, melancholic, sad
Goal: one’s aim/target/destination
Gaol: jail, prison
Eruption: To burst out
Irruption: To burst in
Euphemism: to sound mild instead of harsh
Euphuism: an affected style of writing
Evasiveness: to give ambiguous answers
Evasion: to avoid someone or something
Exceptional: Unusual, strange
Exceptionable: Unpleasant, offensive, odious
Exhausting: Tiring
Exhaustive: Comprehensive, detailed
Imprudent: Not wise, foolish
Impudent: Rude, sassy, disrespectful
Impassable: Impenetrable
Impassible: not capable of having feelings
Impassive: not showing/expressing your feelings
Imperious: proud, conceited
Imperial: royalty, relating to an empire
Imposture: Deceitful conduct/behavior
Imposition: Deceitful act
Informer: Accuser, a spy
Informant: Reporter, Journalist, stringer
Ingenious: Adroit, tactful
Ingenuous: Candid, frank, sincere, innocent
Intense: Violent
Intensive: Strenuous, emphatic, arduous
Irreparable: cannot be corrected/repaired
Irreplaceable: cannot be replaced
Irreverent: Disrespectful, scurrilous
Irrelevant: Useless, wide off the mark
Human: Mankind
Humane: Kind, benignant, benevolent
Immerse: Dip, cover
Amerce: Fine
Immovable: Unyielding, motionless
Irremovable: Cannot be removed or dismissed
Necessaries: Needful things
Necessities: Needs
Observation: Perception (your point of view)
Observance: Performance
Odious: Hateful
Odorous: Having a smell
Official: Relating to an office
Officious: Zealous, authoritative
Ordinance: A rule
Ordnance: Cannon
Oscillation: Changing, unstable
Osculation: Kissing
Parasite: a hanger-on; one that causes harm to another
Satellite: a planet revolving round another
Persecute: Harass
Prosecute: to pursue, indict or try someone in court
Judicial: Legal
Judicious: discreet/wise
Junction: Joint, meeting-place
Juncture: at a particular time or instant
Luxurious: given to luxury
Luxuriant: rich in growth
Masterful: authoritative
Masterly: skillful, expert
Mendacity: Falsehood
Mendicant: Beggars
Momentary: ephemeral, brief
Momentous: important
Precipitous: steep
Precipitate: headlong, hasty
Predication: Assertion
Predicament: Plight, difficulty
Prediction: Prophecy
Prescribe: Recommend
Proscribe: Prohibit, ban
Perspicuous: Clear
Perspicacious: Discerning
Pertinent: Relevant
Pertinacious: Obstinate
Polite: Courteous
Political: Relating to politics or the state
Popular: Liked by the people
Populous: densely inhabited
Jealous: Of what one has
Envious: of what others have
Prolific: Productive
Profligate: Wasteful, prodigal
Sequel: Result
Sequence: Series
Sinecure: Office without duties
Cynosure: center of attraction
Stationary: Not moving, static
Stationery: Writing materials
Treachery: Perfidy
Treason: Disloyalty
Veracious: Truthful
Voracious: Gluttonous
Voluptuous: Sexy, Curvaceous
Vociferous: Vocal, loud, enthusiastic, determined, raucous, clamorous
Why: Reason
While: Though, whereas, however
Wail: Howl, moan, scream, whine, complaint, protest, screech etc
Special Credits to: wikipedia.org and the Oxford English Dictionary
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