Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

“The Rivals” is the Brinsley play that gave the world Mrs. Malaprop, the character whose reliably errant instinct for language inspired the word “malapropism.”

From New York Times • Jun. 26, 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

Mrs. Malaprop, in moderation now, what would you have a woman know?

From The Ontario High School Reader by Marty, A.E.