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
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Recent Examples of expletive
Most of the messages were filled with expletives.
—
Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 25 Sep. 2025
The great thing about the Dove partnership is that Lynch is able to be himself and show off that trademark humor -- with a lot of expletives -- in the social media teasers for the fragrance.
—Dj Siddiqi, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
This certainly isn’t the first time there’s been an on-air flub with expletives.
—Rachel McRady, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2025
Bears coach Ben Johnson is probably happy to get out of Detroit, where he was serenaded with a chorus of boos and expletives throughout his team's loss.
—Christian Romo, Freep.com, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for expletive
Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 25 Sep. 2025
The great thing about the Dove partnership is that Lynch is able to be himself and show off that trademark humor -- with a lot of expletives -- in the social media teasers for the fragrance.
—Dj Siddiqi, Forbes.com, 17 Sep. 2025
This certainly isn’t the first time there’s been an on-air flub with expletives.
—Rachel McRady, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2025
Bears coach Ben Johnson is probably happy to get out of Detroit, where he was serenaded with a chorus of boos and expletives throughout his team's loss.
—Christian Romo, Freep.com, 15 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for expletive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expletive
Noun
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Whether that money becomes a blessing or a curse may depend less on the number of zeros than on the method of transfer.—
Christina Binkley,
Robb Report,
11 Oct. 2025
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The Cubs fell behind, three games to one, but then went into curse-buster mode … and won Game 5 (at Wrigley), Game 6 (in Cleveland) and Game 7 (in Cleveland).—
Jayson Stark,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Does Taylor Swift swear on 'The Life of a Showgirl'?—
Melina Khan,
USA Today,
3 Oct. 2025
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Don’t pretend the cure for coarse speech is a swear jar.—
Eric Preven,
Oc Register,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The series has hit the Netflix Top 10 in all 93 countries that the company measures; Season 4 was the first-ever English-language series to cross 1 billion hours streamed on the platform, and continues to be the streamer’s third-most-popular English-language TV title.—
Kate Aurthur,
Variety,
15 Oct. 2025
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Befitting of JJJJound’s minimalist, premium design language, each pair is light on flair, letting the Speedcat’s iconic silhouette and high-quality materials do the heavy lifting here.—
Riley Jones,
Footwear News,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Kid Rock took aim at Live Nation Entertainment and its ticketing subsidiary Ticketmaster in a profanity-laden diatribe posted to social media on Tuesday.—
Megan Cartwright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Oct. 2025
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There are other moments on the album that opt for profanity over explicit imagery.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Use chapter titles or epithets to set up what’s coming.—
JD Barker,
Rolling Stone,
25 Sep. 2025
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On his next broadcast, Maher convened guests like Ice Cube and Michael Eric Dyson to call him to task for using the epithet and to explore the issues about its us.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
19 Sep. 2025
Noun
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As the Oxford English Dictionary notes, the expression not hardly is considered a vulgarism.—
NR Editors,
National Review,
16 Apr. 2020
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The British cringed over new American accents, coinages and vulgarisms.—
Time,
Time,
11 June 2019
Noun
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And, when the alarm wails hours before dawn, human cusses of angry protest join the chorus of budget appliances failing before their time.—
Virginia Konchan,
The New Yorker,
30 Sep. 2024
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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
Cite this Entry
“Expletive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expletive. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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