expletive
noun/ɪkˈspliːtɪv/
/ˈeksplətɪv/
(formal)- a word, especially a rude word, that you use when you are angry, or in pain synonym swear word
- He dropped the book on his foot and muttered several expletives under his breath.
- ‘Why don't you just [expletive deleted] (= used when you edit out a rude word when reporting what somebody has said)?’
Word Originlate Middle English (as an adjective): from late Latin expletivus, from explere ‘fill out’, from ex- ‘out’ + plere ‘fill’. The noun sense ‘word used merely to fill out a sentence’ (early 17th cent.) was applied specifically to a swear word in the early 19th cent.Want to learn more?
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expletive