expletive - Definitions from Dictionary.com

7 results for: expletive

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

ex·ple·tive

Audio Help [ek-spli-tiv] Pronunciation Key

–noun

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.

–adjective

4.	Also, ex·ple·to·ry Audio Help [ek-spli-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation. added merely to fill out a sentence or line, give emphasis, etc.: Expletive remarks padded the speech.

[Origin: 1600–10; < LL explétīvus serving to fill out, equiv. to L explét(us) filled, filled up (ptp. of explére; see explement) + -īvus -ive

]

—Related forms

ex·ple·tive·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
expletive

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

ex·ple·tive Audio Help (ěk'splĭ-tĭv) Pronunciation Key
n.

An exclamation or oath, especially one that is profane, vulgar, or obscene.
1. A word or phrase that does not contribute any meaning but is added only to fill out a sentence or a metrical line.
2. Linguistics A word or other grammatical element that has no meaning but is needed to fill a syntactic position, such as the words it and there in the sentences It's raining and There are many books on the table.

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.]

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Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

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

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
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

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Expletive

Ex*ple"tion\, n. [L. expletio a satisfying. See Expletive.] Accomplishment; fulfillment. [Obs.] --Killingbeck.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

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.

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