expletive

noun

ˈek-splə-tiv How to pronounce expletive (audio)
Definition of expletivenext
as in curse
a disrespectful or indecent word or expression unleashed a slew of expletives upon losing the tennis match

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of expletive Videos circulating on social media showed drones repeatedly striking the facility, sending large fireballs upward - and expletives tumbling out of many a Russian mouth. — Charles Maynes, NPR, 18 June 2026 Officers deployed gas canisters and pepper spray as protesters chanted expletives. — Daniella Silva, NBC news, 16 June 2026 The team has the power to do that, likely fueling his frustration and use of expletives. — Sean Campbell, Sacbee.com, 9 June 2026 Ohtani was frustrated with his command against Colorado despite winning his last start, dropping a few expletives that were picked up by the on-field mic. — CBS News, 3 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for expletive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expletive
  1. curse
  2. swear
  3. language
  4. profanity
  5. epithet
  6. vulgarism
  7. cuss
Noun
  • That 2016 film introduced Johnson as demigod Maui alongside Auli’i Cravalho as the titular girl with exceptional navigation skills, with the pair teaming up to stop a curse from targeting her island.
    — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 11 July 2026
  • Everything the man is touching nowadays turns into gold for him and rot for the rest of us, a curse any smart person would avoid.
    — Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026
Definition of curse
Noun
  • Why fill with swears a show that might otherwise have been appointment viewing for the whole family?
    — Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 31 May 2026
  • The event finds more than 20,000 people participating in an annual bar crawl throughout the city while dressed in their best holiday attire, tackiest Santa Claus costumes, and ugliest Christmas swears.
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 15 Apr. 2026
Definition of swear
Noun
  • Handwritten messages in Thai and other languages, including Korean, were left alongside white flowers, expressing condolences to the victims.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 July 2026
  • The author’s debut novel was published in 1974, spent 14 weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into more than 35 languages.
    — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 13 July 2026
Definition of language
Noun
  • Wilde read on social media that the tune actually inspired a movie theater meet-cute, as Nash mutters profanity mid-song.
    — Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 11 July 2026
  • The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations described the threats as two profanity-laced, threatening audio messages left for the center.
    — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 30 June 2026
Definition of profanity
Noun
  • Since construction at the Eagle Rock site — so nicknamed after a decrepit colonnade — first stalled in 2008, the only thing that accumulated faster than the garbage and graffiti were the epithets from outraged community members.
    — Ryan Steven Green, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026
  • The epithet is not a concession (the database of Trumpian apologies has yet to receive any inputs).
    — Megan Garber, The Atlantic, 10 June 2026
Definition of epithet
Noun
  • As the Oxford English Dictionary notes, the expression not hardly is considered a vulgarism.
    — NR Editors, National Review, 16 Apr. 2020
  • The British cringed over new American accents, coinages and vulgarisms.
    — Time, Time, 11 June 2019
Definition of vulgarism
Noun
  • He’d just been followed down a country highway by an angry mob, which screamed cusses and gave him the finger.
    — Chris Smith, Vanity Fair, 11 May 2026
  • My grandmother extended a ladder up into this tough old cuss of a tree and climbed up, at some risk, to pick the bulging fruit.
    — Jim Meddleton, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 May 2024
Definition of cuss

Browse Nearby Words

explanatory
expletive
expletives
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Cite this Entry

“Expletive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expletive. Accessed 17 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of expletive for Spanish Speakers

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