Dictionary

expletive en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˈɛksplətɪv/ (US)
• /ɪkˈspliːtɪv/ (UK)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Late Latin explētīvus (“serving to fill out”), from Latin explētus, the perfect passive participle of expleō (“fill out”), itself from ex (“out, completely”) + *pleō (“fill”).

Meanings

1. Serving to fill up, merely for effect, otherwise redundant.
   • No one entered more fully than Shakespeare into the character of this species of poetry, which admits of no expletive imagery, no merely ornamental line. 1839, Henry Hallam, Introduction to the Literature of Europe, volume 3, London: John Murray, →OCLC, page 501:
   • deprecating being taken for ſerious, or to be underſtood that he meaneth any thing by them; but only that he uſeth them as expletive phraſes ... to plump his ſpeech, and fill up ſentences. 1683, Isaac Barrow, The Works of the Learned Isaac Barrow, London: M. Flesher for B. Aylmer, →OCLC, Against vain and raſh Swearing:
2. Marked by expletives (phrase-fillers).

Forms

Deriveds

expletiveness · expletive infixation · expletively · sexpletive

Synonyms

expletory

Translations (17)

fi täyte- (serving to fill up) · fr explétif (serving to fill up) · fi lisä- (serving to fill up) · it pleonastico (serving to fill up) · pt expletivo (serving to fill up) · it espletivo (marked by phrase-fillers) · nl expletief (marked by phrase-fillers) · ca expletiu (serving to fill up) · de Füllwort (serving to fill up) · nl vol krachttermen (marked by phrase-fillers) · cs vyplňující (serving to fill up) · it riempitivo (serving to fill up) · fi täyttävä (serving to fill up) · es expletivo (serving to fill up) · nl opvullend (serving to fill up) · sh ekspletivni (serving to fill up) · bg вмъкнат (serving to fill up)

expletive en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈɛksplətɪv/ (US)
• /ɪkˈspliːtɪv/ (UK)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Late Latin explētīvus (“serving to fill out”), from Latin explētus, the perfect passive participle of expleō (“fill out”), itself from ex (“out, completely”) + *pleō (“fill”).

Meanings

1. A profane, vulgar term, notably a curse or obscene oath.
   • If we don't take advantage of any [expletive] in any way, then it's our loss.
2. A word without meaning added to fill a syntactic position.
3. A word that adds to the strength of a phrase without affecting its meaning (such as fucking in "there's no fucking way he's gonna get away with it").
4. An obscene or otherwise offensive interjection (such as shit, fuck, or damn it).

Forms

Deriveds

syntactic expletive · expletive deleted

Hypernyms

interjection

Relateds

explicative

Synonyms

swear word · bad word · oath · intensifier

Translations (19)

es expletivo (word that adds strength to a phrase) · cs slovní výplň (word added to fill a syntactic position) · bg вмъкната дума (word added to fill a syntactic position) · fi täytesana (word added to fill a syntactic position) · es expletivo (word added to fill a syntactic position) · cs slovní vata (word added to fill a syntactic position) · cs vycpávkové slovo (word added to fill a syntactic position) · sh psovka (word added to fill a syntactic position) · pt expletiva (word added to fill a syntactic position) · fi voimasana (word that adds strength to a phrase) · de Expletivum (word added to fill a syntactic position) · sh ekspletiv (word that adds strength to a phrase) · cs vycpávka (word added to fill a syntactic position) · nl expletief (woord) (word that adds strength to a phrase) · de Expletiv (word added to fill a syntactic position) · pt expletivo (word added to fill a syntactic position) · sv kraftuttryck (word that adds strength to a phrase) · nl opvulling (word added to fill a syntactic position) · nl vulsel (word added to fill a syntactic position)