expletive
9
8.4
- noun
- /ˈɛksplɪtɪv/
- Specialized
:
elemento expletivo
- (that they are sometimes all together: stupidities, expletives, and kennings)
Examples
-
With the expletives deleted, I think #11 says "Post in English."
Blog text (14) -
Well, I left the expletive out.
Blog text (14) -
-You can usually figure on about a day's delay for every expletive used.
-
Or we could write "expletive deleted."
Fiction book (1995) -
I kind of think you left out some expletives by not describing the task of stringing the pins.
Blog text (2) -
That's why the expletives keep touting that their changes and cuts will only affect future recipients.
Blog text (34) -
The translator was not functioning as well as normal, or "expletives were deleted," or Nary was too stressed to speak clearly.
Fiction book (2001) -
He filled his speech with expletives to make it sound more impactful.
-
In her poem, she used several expletives to create a rhythmic effect.
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The writer admitted that the expletives added little meaning but were necessary for the flow of the sentence.
Idioms
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word expletive comes from the Latin parts ex- and plere, where plere means 'to fill' and ex- means 'out'. So an expletive originally meant a word that 'fills out' a sentence to make it sound natural, even when it adds no extra meaning.