Home › Words › B › babuismbabuismbabuism · noun — A malapropism or other erroneous form produced by an Indian speaking English.Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).EtymologyFrom babu + -ism.nounA malapropism or other erroneous form produced by an Indian speaking English.e.g.“They altered the idiom, but they could say whatever they wanted to say quickly; there were none of the babuisms ascribed to them up at the Club.” — 1924, EM Forster, A Passage to India, Penguin, published 2005, page 60:Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).Words closest in meaningBy meaning, not spelling — each word's AI semantic fingerprint, nearest first.baboo 64% match vs babuism →babu 61% match — A Hindu title of respect, equivalent to Mr., usually appended to the surname of a Hindu man. vs babuism →babudom 60% match — Administrative bureaucracy, or red tape, in India. vs babuism →dogberryism 59% match — A malapropism. vs babuism →babuji 57% match — babu (as a respectful term of address) vs babuism →malapropism 56% match — The blundering use of an absurdly inappropriate word or expression in place of a similar-sounding one. vs babuism →malaprop 53% match — Characterized by the use of malapropisms. vs babuism →babishness 53% match — The state or quality of being babish. vs babuism →