meaningless phrase; curse, swearword
Search Dictionary
Expletive Definition from Language, Idioms & Slang Dictionaries & Glossaries
(n.)
A word, letter, or syllable not necessary to the sense, but inserted to fill a vacancy; an oath.
A word, letter, or syllable not necessary to the sense, but inserted to fill a vacancy; an oath.
(a.)
Filling up; hence, added merely for the purpose of filling up; superfluous.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), edited by Noah Porter. AboutFilling up; hence, added merely for the purpose of filling up; superfluous.
expletive
\ex"ple*tive\ (?), a. [l. expletivus, from expletus, p. p. of explere to fill up; ex out+plere to fill, akin to plenus full: cf. f. explétif. see full.] filling up; hence, added merely for the purpose of filling up; superfluous. "expletive imagery." expletive phrases to plump his speech.
expletive
\ex"ple*tive\, n. a word, letter, or syllable not necessary to the sense, but inserted to fill a vacancy; an oath. while explectives their feeble aid to join, and ten low words oft creep in one dull line.
Noun
1. profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger; "expletives were deleted"
(synonym) curse, curse word, oath, swearing, swearword, cuss
(hypernym) profanity
2. a word or phrase conveying no independent meaning but added to fill out a sentence or metrical line
(hypernym) utterance, vocalization
Expletive Definition from Encyclopedia Dictionaries & Glossaries
Expletive may refer to:
- Syntactic expletive, a word that performs a syntactic role but contributes nothing to meaning
- Expletive attributive, a word that contributes nothing to meaning but suggests the strength of feeling of the speaker
- Profanity, a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something
| See more at Wikipedia.org... |
