Definition

1. Noun:
   • A word or phrase that adds no independent meaning but serves to fill out a sentence or a metrical line in verse. In grammar, it is a word that has no semantic content but completes a syntactic structure.
   • A profane, obscene, or swear word, typically expressing surprise, anger, or other strong emotion. This is the more common modern usage, referring to a rude or offensive word.

Examples of Usage

• Noun (Grammatical filler):
  • In the sentence "It is raining," the word "it" functions as an expletive.
  • The poet used expletives to maintain the rhythm of the line.
• Noun (Swear word):
  • He shouted an expletive when he dropped the heavy box on his foot.
  • The radio broadcast bleeped out all the expletives from the interview.

Advanced Usage

• Expletive infixation: A linguistic phenomenon where an expletive (swear word) is inserted into the middle of another word for emphasis, often in informal speech.
  • That movie was fan-freaking-tastic! (Here, "freaking" is used as an expletive infix.)
• Expletive deletion: The editing practice of removing swear words, often indicated by the phrase "[expletive deleted]" in transcripts.
  • The official report contained the line: "The witness then said, '[expletive deleted], I'm not answering that.'"

Variants and Related Words

• Expletively (adverb): In the manner of an expletive.
  • He exclaimed expletively.
• Expletive attributive: Sometimes used to describe words that are semantically empty but syntactically required.

Synonyms

• For a swear word: oath, curse, swear word, profanity, obscenity, cuss word.
• For a grammatical filler: dummy word, placeholder, syntactic expletive (e.g., "there" in "There is a problem").

Related Phrases

• Expletive of surprise: A swear word used primarily to express shock.
  • "Holy cow!" can be considered a mild expletive of surprise.
• Grammatical expletive: A technical term for words like "it" or "there" when used in constructions like "It is important" or "There are many reasons."

Related Idioms

• To utter an expletive: A formal way of saying "to swear" or "to curse."
  • The mechanic uttered an expletive as the engine part broke.
• A stream of expletives: A series of swear words spoken rapidly, usually in anger.
  • He let out a stream of expletives after the car wouldn't start.

Noun

1. a word or phrase conveying no independent meaning but added to fill out a sentence or metrical line
2. profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
   • expletives were deleted