Adjacent Words

Expletive definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

EX'PLETIVE, a. [L. expleo, to fill.] Filling; added for supply or ornament.
EX'PLETIVE, n. In language, a word or syllable inserted to fill a vacancy, or for ornament. The Greek language abounds with expletives.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger; "expletives were deleted" [syn: curse, curse word, expletive, oath, swearing, swearword, cuss]
2: a word or phrase conveying no independent meaning but added to fill out a sentence or metrical line

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Date: 1612 1. a. a syllable, word, or phrase inserted to fill a vacancy (as in a sentence or a metrical line) without adding to the sense; especially a word (as it in “make it clear which you prefer”) that occupies the position of the subject or object of a verb in normal English word order and anticipates a subsequent word or phrase that supplies the needed meaningful content b. an exclamatory word or phrase; especially one that is obscene or profane 2. one that serves to fill out or as a filling II. adjective Etymology: Late Latin expletivus, from Latin expletus, past participle of expl?re to fill out, from ex- + pl?re to fill — more at full Date: 1666 1. serving to fill up <expletive phrases> 2. marked by the use of expletives

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & adj. --n. 1 an oath, swear-word, or other expression, used in an exclamation. 2 a word used to fill out a sentence etc., esp. in verse. --adj. serving to fill out (esp. a sentence, line of verse, etc.). Etymology: LL expletivus (as EX-(1), plere plet- fill)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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. expl['e]tif. See Full.] Filling up; hence, added merely for the purpose of filling up; superfluous. ``Expletive imagery.'' --Hallam. Expletive phrases to plump his speech. --Barrow.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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. --Pope.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(expletives) An expletive is a rude word or expression such as 'Damn!' which you say when you are annoyed, excited, or in pain. (FORMAL) = swear word N-COUNT

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. Superfluous, redundant. II. n. Expletive word or syllable.

Moby Thesaurus

battology, bedizenment, blurt, curse, cuss, cuss word, de trop, dirty name, dirty word, dispensable, duplication, duplication of effort, dysphemism, ecphonesis, ejaculation, embellishment, epithet, excess, exclamation, expendable, extravagance, fat, featherbedding, filler, filling, foul invective, frill, frills, frippery, gingerbread, gratuitous, in excess, iterative, luxury, macrology, naughty word, needless, needlessness, no-no, nonessential, oath, obscenity, ornamentation, outburst, overadornment, overlap, padding, payroll padding, pleonasm, pleonastic, profane oath, prolix, prolixity, redundance, redundancy, redundant, reiterative, repetitious, spare, stammering, stuttering, supererogatory, superfluity, superfluous, superfluousness, swear, swearword, tautologic, tautological, tautologism, tautologous, tautology, to spare, uncalled-for, unessential, unnecessariness, unnecessary, unneeded, verbose, verbosity, wordy