malapropism

malapropism

/ˈmæləprɒpɪzəm/

📚 Literary Terms

mistaken use of a word for a similar-sounding one

Saying 'for all intensive purposes' instead of 'intents and purposes' is a malapropism.

Origin: French mal à propos ill-suited from the character Mrs. Malaprop in Sheridan's The Rivals (1775)