ex·ple·tive
Audio Help [ek-spli-tiv] Pronunciation Key
Audio Help [ek-spli-tiv] Pronunciation Key –noun
–adjective
| 1. | an interjectory word or expression, frequently profane; an exclamatory oath. |
| 2. | a syllable, word, or phrase serving to fill out. |
| 3. | Grammar. a word considered as regularly filling the syntactic position of another, as it in It is his duty to go, or there in There is nothing here. |
| 4. | Also, ex·ple·to·ry
Audio Help [ek-spli-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] Pronunciation Key. added merely to fill out a sentence or line, give emphasis, etc.: Expletive remarks padded the speech. |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
expletive
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| ex·ple·tive
Audio Help (ěk'splĭ-tĭv) Pronunciation Key
n.
adj. Added or inserted in order to fill out something, such as a sentence or a metrical line. [From Late Latin explētīvus, serving to fill out, from Latin explētus, past participle of explēre, to fill out : ex-, ex- + plēre, to fill; see pelə-1 in Indo-European roots.] |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
expletive
1612, originally "a word or phrase serving to fill out a sentence or metrical line," from L.L. expletivus "serving to fill out," from L. explere "fill out," from ex- "out" + plere "to fill" (see plenary). Sense of "exclamation," often in the form of a cuss word, first recorded 1815 in Sir Walter Scott.
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| expletive | |
noun | |
| 1. | profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger; "expletives were deleted" [syn: curse] |
| 2. | a word or phrase conveying no independent meaning but added to fill out a sentence or metrical line |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
expletive [(ek-spluh-tiv)]
Any exclamation or oath, especially one that is obscene or profane, as in “Dammit, I forgot to buy the milk.”
Note: The Oval Office tapes of President Richard Nixon, released during the investigation of the Watergate scandal, made famous the phrase “expletive deleted,” which appeared frequently in expurgated transcripts of the tapes.
[Chapter:] Conventions of Written English
| The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
Expletive
Ex*ple"tion\, n. [L. expletio a satisfying. See Expletive.] Accomplishment; fulfillment. [Obs.] --Killingbeck.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
Expletive
Ex"ple*tive\, a. [L. expletivus, from expletus, p. p. of explere to fill up; ex out+plere to fill, akin to plenus full: cf. F. expl['e]tif. See Full.] Filling up; hence, added merely for the purpose of filling up; superfluous. "Expletive imagery." --Hallam. Expletive phrases to plump his speech. --Barrow.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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