expletive
/eks'pli:tiv/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- 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
- a word or phrase conveying no independent meaning but added to fill out a sentence or metrical line
- profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger
- expletives were deleted