EXPLETIVE • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Expletive

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/ˈɛksplətɪv/ Listen

Expletive

noun

Profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger. Synonyms: curse, curse word, cuss, oath, swearing, swearword.

A word or phrase conveying no independent meaning but added to fill out a sentence or metrical line.

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Etymology of 'Expletive'

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"Expletive" Quotes from Famous Books

... the peculiar physical deficiency of Dammit's mother had entailed upon her son. He was detestably poor, and this was the reason, no doubt, that his expletive expressions about betting, seldom took a pecuniary turn. I will not be bound to say that I ever heard him make use of such a figure of speech as "I'll bet you a dollar." It was usually "I'll bet you what you please," or "I'll bet you what you ...

— The Works of Edgar Allan Poe - Volume 5 (of 5) of the Raven Edition • Edgar Allan Poe

... the client in question caught sight of Morris and ripped out so strong an Italian expletive that the ...

— Abe and Mawruss - Being Further Adventures of Potash and Perlmutter • Montague Glass

... greater light on an author, than the concurrence of a contemporary writer, I am inclined to be of Hiccius's opinion, and to consider the "All" as an elegant expletive, or, as he more aptly phrases it "elegans expletivum." The passage ...

— Parodies of Ballad Criticism (1711-1787) • William Wagstaffe

... bearing an expression in which anger and horror were extraordinarily intermingled. If it was Sir Isaac he dodged back with amazing dexterity; if it was a phantom of the living it vanished with an air of doing that. Without came the sound of a flower-pot upset and a faint expletive. Mr. Brumley looked very quickly at Lady Beach-Mandarin, who was entirely unconscious of anything but her own uncoiling and enveloping eloquence, and as quickly at Miss Sharsper. But Miss Sharsper was examining a blackish bureau through her glasses as though she were ...

— The Wife of Sir Isaac Harman • H. G. (Herbert George) Wells

... yelling, which had gained the camp its infelicitous title, were not permitted within hearing distance of Stumpy's. The men conversed in whispers or smoked with Indian gravity. Profanity was tacitly given up in these sacred precincts, and throughout the camp a popular form of expletive, known as "D—n the luck!" and "Curse the luck!" was abandoned, as having a new personal bearing. Vocal music was not interdicted, being supposed to have a soothing, tranquilizing quality; and one ...

— The Luck of Roaring Camp and Other Tales • Bret Harte

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