expletive (redirected from expletives)

ex·ple·tive  (kspl-tv)

n.

1. An exclamation or oath, especially one that is profane, vulgar, or obscene.

2.

a. A word or phrase that does not contribute any meaning but is added only to fill out a sentence or a metrical line.

b. 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.

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[From Late Latin expltvus, serving to fill out, from Latin expltus, past participle of explre, to fill out : ex-, ex- + plre, to fill; see pel-¹ in Indo-European roots.]

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expletive [ɪkˈspliːtɪv]

n

1. (Linguistics) an exclamation or swearword; an oath or a sound expressing an emotional reaction rather than any particular meaning

2. (Linguistics) any syllable, word, or phrase conveying no independent meaning, esp one inserted in a line of verse for the sake of the metre

adj also expletory [ɪkˈspliːtərɪ]

expressing no particular meaning, esp when filling out a line of verse

[from Late Latin explētīvus for filling out, from explēre, from plēre to fill]

expletively  adv

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	expletive - profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger; "expletives were deleted" curse, curse word, oath, swearing, swearword, cuss profanity - vulgar or irreverent speech or action
	2.	expletive - a word or phrase conveying no independent meaning but added to fill out a sentence or metrical line utterance, vocalization - the use of uttered sounds for auditory communication

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expletive

noun swear word, curse, obscenity, oath, four-letter word, cuss (informal), profanity, rude word He muttered an expletive under his breath.

Translations

expletive [eksˈpliːtɪv]

A. N (Gram) → palabra f expletiva; (= oath) → palabrota f, improperio m

B. ADJ (Gram) → expletivo

expletive [ɪkˈspliːtɪv] n → juron m

expletive

n (= exclamation) → Ausruf m; (= oath) → Kraftausdruck m, → Fluch m; (Gram: = filler word) → Füllwort nt

adj expletive word (Gram) → Füllwort nt

expletive [ɪksˈpliːtɪv] n (frm) (swear word) → imprecazione f

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expletive [ɪksˈpliːtɪv] n (frm) (swear word) → imprecazione f