Meaning & use
expletive
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Meanings
nouncountableformaleuphemistic
A rude or swear word shouted in anger, pain, or surprise, often one that cannot be said in polite company.
Grammar: Plural: expletives. Often appears in the phrase expletive deleted or used in news to avoid repeating the word.
Patterns
- utter an expletive
- mutter an expletive
He muttered an expletive when he dropped the tray.
The broadcast was edited to remove the expletives.
She let out an expletive as the car cut in front of her.
nouncountabletechnical
In grammar, a word such as it or there that fills a position in a sentence but has no meaning of its own.
Grammar: In 'It is raining', the word it is an expletive.
Patterns
- an expletive subject
In the sentence 'There are three cats', there is an expletive.
Grammar books call the it in 'It seems that he left' an expletive.
Some writers cut expletive constructions to make their sentences shorter.
Word forms
| plural | expletives |
|---|
Common combinations
- mutter an expletive
- The driver muttered an expletive under his breath.
- utter an expletive
- The coach uttered a loud expletive.
- expletive deleted
- The transcript read 'expletive deleted' where the swearing occurred.
- a string of expletives
- He produced a string of expletives after hitting his thumb.
- expletive-laden
- The recording was an expletive-laden rant.
Synonyms and how they differ
- swear word
- Swear word is plain and everyday, while expletive is more formal and often used in reports.
- curse
- Curse can also mean a magical spell, so it is broader than expletive.
- obscenity
- Obscenity stresses that the word or act is offensive to decency, which is stronger than expletive.
- profanity
- Profanity can include disrespect for religion, and is a more formal term than expletive.
Word family
- expletives noun
- plural of expletive
- expletive-laden adjective
- full of swear words
Commonly confused: expletive or explicit?
expletive vs explicit
Explicit means clearly stated or showing things openly; an expletive is specifically a swear word.
Practice
Which sentence uses the grammatical meaning of expletive?
Choose one answer.
In grammar an expletive is a dummy word, like it or there, with no meaning of its own. The others use the swear-word sense.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “expletive”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.