expletive

play

noun ex·ple·tive \ ˈek-splə-tiv \

Definition of expletive

1 a :a syllable, word, or phrase inserted to fill a vacancy (as in a sentence or a metrical line) without adding to the sense; especially :a word (such as it in "make it clear which you prefer") that occupies the position of the subject or object of a verb in normal English word order and anticipates a subsequent word or phrase that supplies the needed meaningful content

b :an exclamatory word or phrase; especially :one that is obscene or profane

2 :one that serves to fill out or as a filling

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Examples of expletive in a Sentence

Angry expletives filled the air.
Expletives were deleted from the transcript of their conversation.

Recent Examples of expletive from the Web

In an expletive-filled rant, Mr. Smith suggested that Sinclair stations that ran the segments would have to pay for their mistake.

— cecilia kang, eric lipton and sydney ember, New York Times, "How a Conservative TV Giant Is Ridding Itself of Regulation," 14 Aug. 2017
Scaramucci, dismissed in the wake of an expletive-filled rant to a reporter from The New Yorker, acquitted himself fairly well during the interview.

— joey morona, cleveland.com, "5 most interesting things Anthony Scaramucci told ABC News, ranked," 14 Aug. 2017
Rivera shouted an expletive and directed that backup linebacker Jeremy Cash be yanked from the field during team drills, after Cash laid a low hit on rookie running back and No.

— jourdan rodrigue, joseph person, and scott fowler, charlotteobserver, "Why Ron Rivera lost his temper at Jeremy Cash during Sunday’s sweltering practice," 6 Aug. 2017
The indiscretions are similar to ones suffered by Facebook and Twitter, where chatbots used expletives and even created their own language.

— pei li and adam jourdan, The Christian Science Monitor, "Chinese chatbots go rogue on political matters," 4 Aug. 2017
Magma, the French prog band, invented not only its own L. Ron Hubbard–style cosmic origin story but its own language (Kobaïan, which reads like a sequence of Gothic expletives: Nebëhr gudahtt, Köhntarkösz).

— james parker, The Atlantic, "The Whitest Music Ever," 4 Aug. 2017
One week after accepting the White House job, the former hedge-fund boss unleashed an expletive-ridden tirade on a few of his new colleagues in a phone call with a New Yorker reporter.

— sam dangremond, Town & Country, "7 Things to Know About Anthony Scaramucci's Wife, Deidre Scaramucci," 31 July 2017
The court appearance came after Kardashian posted graphic pictures and expletive-ridden posts about Chyna, many of which have since been taken down.

— yvonne juris, PEOPLE.com, "Celebrity Scoop: Beyoncé Reveals Photos of Twins, Julianne Hough Ties the Knot with Brooks Laich and More of the Biggest News from Hollywood," 14 July 2017
A Reddit user by the name of HanA–holeSolo (partially redacted for an expletive) took credit for the GIF, but later released an apology as CNN tracked the user down, and his history of racist and anti-Semitic comments were unearthed.

— nick romano, EW.com, "Trump says CNN took body slam meme 'too seriously'," 6 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'expletive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of expletive

15th century

expletive Synonyms

Synonyms

curse, cuss, cussword, dirty word, swearword, four-letter word, obscenity, profanity, swear, vulgarism

Related Words

bawdry, language, scurrility; execration, imprecation, malediction; epithet, name; oath

Other Grammar and Linguistics Terms

ablaut, allusion, anacoluthon, diacritic, gerund, idiom, infinitive, metaphor, semiotics, simile

expletive

adjective

Definition of expletive

1 :serving to fill up

expletive phrases

2 :marked by the use of expletives

Recent Examples of expletive from the Web

This prompted a furious, expletive-laced outburst from Ocon, who was already unhappy that his team had pitted Perez for new tires ahead of him.

— USA TODAY, "Lewis Hamilton wins Belgian Grand Prix to trim Sebastian Vettel's lead," 27 Aug. 2017
The move was likely prompted by a profane interview given to the New Yorker in which Scaramucci made obscene, expletive-laden statements about members several members of the Trump Administration.

— aric jenkins, Time, "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert," 21 July 2017