expletive : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: expletive	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for expletive
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
expletive n profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger; "expletives were deleted" Synonym(s): curse, curse word, expletive, oath, swearing, swearword, cuss a word or phrase conveying no independent meaning but added to fill out a sentence or metrical line
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Expletive \Ex"pletive\, a. [L. expletivus, from expletus, p. p. of explere to fill up; ex out+plere to fill, akin to plenus full: cf. F. expl[82]tif. See {Full}.] Filling up; hence, added merely for the purpose of filling up; superfluous. [bd]Expletive* imagery.[b8] --Hallam. Expletive phrases to plump his speech. --Barrow.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Expletive \Ex"ple*tive\, n. A word, letter, or syllable not necessary to the sense, but inserted to fill a vacancy; an oath. While explectives their feeble aid to join, And ten low words oft creep in one dull line. --Pope.