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Expletive   /ˈɛksplətɪv/   Listen
Expletive

noun
1.
Profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger.  Synonyms: curse, curse word, cuss, oath, swearing, swearword.
2.
A word or phrase conveying no independent meaning but added to fill out a sentence or metrical line.






WordNet 3.0 © 2010 Princeton University








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"Expletive" Quotes from Famous Books



... it," answered Michael, "for with such a flock of geese to say it to, the horrid expletive might be constantly on her lips. For my part, I simply refuse to let things be done in this light and airy style. I appeal to ...
— Manalive • G. K. Chesterton

... links, became while in action a stern, silent, intent person, his whole being centred on the game. With the exception of a casual remark of a technical nature when he met George on the various tees, and an occasional expletive when things went wrong with his ball, he eschewed conversation. It was not till the end of the round that ...
— A Damsel in Distress • Pelham Grenville Wodehouse

... took no notice. Alec began his story notwithstanding, and as he went on, his friend became attentive, inserting here and there an expletive to the disadvantage of Beauchamp, whose behaviour with regard to Kate he now learned for the first time. When Alec ...
— Alec Forbes of Howglen • George MacDonald

... sworn; and we have known worse; but with none of them had the word any meaning, nor has it any, ever, except in the pulpit; where it is a pity (as many an excellent clergyman has thought) that it is heard at all. Treat it lightly elsewhere, as an expletive and a mere way of speaking, and it will come to nothing as it deserves, and follow the obsolete "plagues" ...
— The International Monthly, Volume 3, No. 1, April, 1851 • Various

... of poor Mr. Schulemberg at finding that he was sold, though the goods were not! I decline reporting the conversation any farther, lest its strength of expression and force of expletive might be too much for the more queasy of my readers. Suffice it to say, that the swindlee, if I may be allowed the royalty of coining a word, at once freed his own mind and imprisoned the body of M. M. ——; for in those days imprisonment for debt was a recognized institution, and I ...
— The Atlantic Monthly, Vol. I., No. 3, January 1858 - A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics • Various


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