expletive
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expletive
- /ɪkˈspliːtɪv/ UK
- /ˈɛksplətɪv/ US
Where it comes from
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”).
adjective more expletive · most expletive
-
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.
Similar: expletory
- Marked by expletives (phrase-fillers).
noun expletives
-
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.
Similar: swear word, bad word, oath
- A word without meaning added to fill a syntactic position.
-
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").
Similar: intensifier
- An obscene or otherwise offensive interjection (such as shit, fuck, or damn it).
Translations
Every language
adj serving to fill up
| Español | expletivo |
|---|---|
| Português | expletivo |
| Français | explétif |
| Deutsch | Füllwort |
| Italiano | pleonastico, riempitivo |
adj marked by phrase-fillers
| Italiano | espletivo |
|---|
noun word added to fill a syntactic position
| Español | expletivo |
|---|---|
| Português | expletivo, expletiva |
| Deutsch | Expletivum, Expletiv |
noun word that adds strength to a phrase
| Español | expletivo |
|---|
Talk about this word "expletive." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/expletive. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. expletive. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/expletive "expletive." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/expletive.Cite this
@misc{expletive_2026,
title = {expletive},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/expletive},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
