expletive
What does "expletive" mean?
An expletive is a word or phrase that is used to express strong emotion, particularly anger, frustration, or surprise. While it often refers to profanity or "swear words," the term technically encompasses any exclamatory filler used to add emphasis to a statement. In a grammatical context, the term also refers to a "dummy" word like "there" or "it" that has no inherent meaning but serves to fill a syntactic position in a sentence (e.g., "There is a cat"). However, in general conversation, it is almost exclusively used as a synonym for a curse word or an offensive exclamation.
"expletive" in conversation
An office dispute
He just started shouting expletives at the monitor when the file crashed.
He just started shouting expletives at the monitor when the file crashed.
That is completely unprofessional.
That is completely unprofessional.
Used to describe someone using offensive language in a professional setting.
A movie review
The dialogue was a bit repetitive, wasn't it?
The dialogue was a bit repetitive, wasn't it?
Yeah, they relied on expletives way too much to make the characters sound 'edgy'.
Yeah, they relied on expletives way too much to make the characters sound 'edgy'.
Used to discuss the overuse of profanity in media.
"expletive" in a sentence
He let out a sharp expletive when he stubbed his toe.
He let out a sharp expletive when he stubbed his toe.
The broadcast was censored because the guest used several expletives.
The broadcast was censored because the guest used several expletives.
The author's penchant for vulgar expletives alienated a large portion of her readership.
The author's penchant for vulgar expletives alienated a large portion of her readership.
