expletive
Use Expletive in a sentence
splɪ 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 [ek-spli-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] . added merely to fill out a sentence or line, give emphasis, etc.: Expletive remarks padded the speech.
[ek-spli-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee] . added merely to fill out a sentence or line, give emphasis, etc.: Expletive remarks padded the speech.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To expletive
00:10
Expletive
is always a great word to know.
So is em dash. Does it mean:
| a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question. |
| a dash one em long. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
expletive (ɪkˈspliːtɪv) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | an exclamation or swearword; an oath or a sound expressing an emotional reaction rather than any particular meaning |
| 2. | any syllable, word, or phrase conveying no independent meaning, esp one inserted in a line of verse for the sake of the metre |
| —adj | |
| 3. | expressing no particular meaning, esp when filling out a line of verse |
| [C17: from Late Latin explētīvus for filling out, from explēre, from plēre to fill] | |
| ex'pletively | |
| —adv | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
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, popularized by edited transcripts of Watergate tapes (mid-1970s), in which expletive deleted replaced Preisdent Nixon's salty expressions.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary
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.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
There is doubtless some advantage in the shortness of the lines, which there is little temptation to load with expletive epithets.
Simonson repeated the order two more times, after which the suspect yelled an expletive and quickly took off in the car.
Daley cut him off with an expletive, saying he was not interested in polls.
In a final expression of contempt, she ended her speech with an expletive.
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