diff --git a/changelogs/fragments/44726-correct_deprecate_call.yaml b/changelogs/fragments/44726-correct_deprecate_call.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..038c12a780f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelogs/fragments/44726-correct_deprecate_call.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,2 @@
+bugfixes:
+  - Fix calling deprecate with correct arguments (https://github.com/ansible/ansible/pull/46062).
diff --git a/lib/ansible/module_utils/basic.py b/lib/ansible/module_utils/basic.py
index c0398df4ef1..a3e3916e717 100644
--- a/lib/ansible/module_utils/basic.py
+++ b/lib/ansible/module_utils/basic.py
@@ -2352,6 +2352,8 @@ class AnsibleModule(object):
                 for d in kwargs['deprecations']:
                     if isinstance(d, SEQUENCETYPE) and len(d) == 2:
                         self.deprecate(d[0], version=d[1])
+                    elif isinstance(d, Mapping):
+                        self.deprecate(d['msg'], version=d.get('version', None))
                     else:
                         self.deprecate(d)
             else: