as in curses
a disrespectful or indecent word or expression
unleashed a slew of expletives upon losing the tennis match
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of expletives
The man pushed Littrell's phone away, and the two began filming each other and hurling expletives.
—
Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2026
On some of her livestreams, she can be seen screaming expletives in the face of police officers.
—Brian Maass, CBS News, 1 Apr. 2026
Hurley's mother, Christine, was among them and in true Hurley family fashion let a few expletives fly after the last-second win.
—Andrew McCarty, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026
Apart from the accents, one difference from the American original was the expletives.
—ABC News, 22 Mar. 2026
The footage, which has been verified by outlets including the BBC, shows the missile landing and Sweeney hitting the deck in a shower of shrapnel before uttering expletives.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 19 Mar. 2026
Paljusevic reportedly whispered expletives to the father’s body at a public funeral thereafter and FaceTimed the friend.
—Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 17 Mar. 2026
He could be heard screaming expletives immediately after the shooting.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 2 Mar. 2026
After a wild few days with expletives and a brief rule change, tensions simmered and teams and players more or less moved on.
—Sallee Ann Harrison, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2026
On some of her livestreams, she can be seen screaming expletives in the face of police officers.
—Brian Maass, CBS News, 1 Apr. 2026
Hurley's mother, Christine, was among them and in true Hurley family fashion let a few expletives fly after the last-second win.
—Andrew McCarty, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Mar. 2026
Apart from the accents, one difference from the American original was the expletives.
—ABC News, 22 Mar. 2026
The footage, which has been verified by outlets including the BBC, shows the missile landing and Sweeney hitting the deck in a shower of shrapnel before uttering expletives.
—Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 19 Mar. 2026
Paljusevic reportedly whispered expletives to the father’s body at a public funeral thereafter and FaceTimed the friend.
—Darcie Moran, Freep.com, 17 Mar. 2026
He could be heard screaming expletives immediately after the shooting.
—Justin Muszynski, Hartford Courant, 2 Mar. 2026
After a wild few days with expletives and a brief rule change, tensions simmered and teams and players more or less moved on.
—Sallee Ann Harrison, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expletives
Noun
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There are still deliveries of hate mail from conservative neighbors who disapprove of their lifestyle, and occasional drive-bys punctuated with curses yelled from car windows, but they’ve largely been accepted by the community.—
Stephanie Breijo,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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Pay multiple people from the crafts site Etsy to perform tarot readings, lift any existing curses and otherwise engage in witchcraft.—
Tyler Estep,
AJC.com,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Documents state that Ebert returned a few days later to William Yates' house to yell obscenities at his wife and a friend who were sitting outside.—
Anthony Robledo,
USA Today,
3 Apr. 2026
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Yates family members said Ebert drove up honking his horn and yelling obscenities, during which surveillance footage shows William backed into the driveway to avoid getting hit, throwing a rock at Ebert’s car.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Surveillance video showed a group of people walking outside the warehouse before going inside and spending more than half an hour spray-painting profanities and trashing the facility.—
Sabrina Franza,
CBS News,
8 Apr. 2026
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The Express-News has redacted personally identifying information and profanities.—
Bayliss Wagner,
San Antonio Express-News,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Tensions rose, neighbors said, to the point that King was heard at times swearing at Kirsten Wells as well as others using vulgar epithets.—
Laura Bauer,
Kansas City Star,
26 Mar. 2026
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On that day, the mob hurled racist epithets, smoke bombs, and fists at him.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
4 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Expletives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expletives. Accessed 15 Apr. 2026.
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