expletive
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also explétive
Contents |
English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Late Latin explētīvus (“serving to fill out”), from Latin explētus, the perfect passive participle of expleō (“fill out”), itself from ex (“out, completely”) + *pleō (“fill”).
Adjective [edit]
expletive (comparative more expletive, superlative most expletive)
- Serving to fill up, merely for effect, otherwise redundant
- Hallam
- Expletive imagery.
- Barrow
- Expletive phrases to plump his speech.
- Hallam
- Marked by expletives (phrase-fillers)
Synonyms [edit]
Translations [edit]
serving to fill up
marked by phrase-fillers
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
Translations to be checked
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| Examples (syntactic filler) |
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It is snowing. |
| Examples (strengthener) |
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I'll give you a bloody good hiding |
Noun [edit]
expletive (plural expletives)
- A profane, vulgar term, notably a curse or obscene oath.
- (linguistics) A word without meaning added to fill a syntactic position.
- (linguistics) A word that adds to the strength of a phrase without affecting its meaning.
Translations [edit]
profane, vulgar term
word added to fill a syntactic position
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
References [edit]
- Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, Springfield, Massachusetts, G.&C. Merriam Co., 1967
