Expletive — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger

a word or phrase conveying no independent meaning but added to fill out a sentence or metrical line

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/ˈɛksplᵻtˌɪv/

🇬🇧British English

/ɛksplˈiːtɪv/

🇮🇳Indian English

/ɛksplˈiːtɪv/

3 syllables Say it as /ˈɛksplᵻtˌɪv/.

Examples

expletives were deleted

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

curse swearing cuss oath swearword curse word

Parts of Speech

noun	profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger “expletives were deleted”
noun	a word or phrase conveying no independent meaning but added to fill out a sentence or metrical line

Word Forms

curse	verb	heap obscenities upon
swear	verb	utter obscenities or profanities
cuss	verb	utter obscenities or profanities

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Kraftausdruck

profaner oder obszöner Ausdruck, meist der Überraschung oder Wut

🇫🇷French

explétif

expression profane ou obscène, généralement de surprise ou de colère

🇪🇸Spanish

expletivo

expresión profana u obscena generalmente de sorpresa o enojo

🇮🇹Italian

imprecazione

espressione profana o oscena solitamente di sorpresa o rabbia

🇳🇱Dutch

krachtterm

godslasterlijke of obscene uitingen, meestal van verbazing of woede

🇵🇹Portuguese

palavrão

expressão profana ou obscena geralmente de surpresa ou raiva

🇷🇺Russian

ругательство

нецензурное или непристойное выражение обычно удивления или гнева

India

🇮🇳Hindi

दुर्वचन

आमतौर पर आश्चर्य या क्रोध की अपवित्र या अश्लील अभिव्यक्ति

🇧🇩Bengali

বিষ্ময়কর

অপবিত্র বা অশ্লীল অভিব্যক্তি সাধারণত বিস্ময় বা ক্রোধের

🇮🇳Tamil

விரிவாக

ஆச்சர்யம் அல்லது கோபத்தின் ஆபாசமான அல்லது ஆபாசமான வெளிப்பாடு

🇮🇳Telugu

వివరణాత్మకమైన

అసభ్యకరమైన లేదా అశ్లీల వ్యక్తీకరణ సాధారణంగా ఆశ్చర్యం లేదా కోపం

🇮🇳Marathi

उद्बोधक

अपवित्र किंवा अश्लील अभिव्यक्ती सहसा आश्चर्य किंवा राग

🇮🇳Gujarati

નિરાશાજનક

સામાન્ય રીતે આશ્ચર્ય અથવા ગુસ્સાની અપવિત્ર અથવા અશ્લીલ અભિવ્યક્તિ

🇮🇳Kannada

ವಿವರಣಾತ್ಮಕ

ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿ ಆಶ್ಚರ್ಯ ಅಥವಾ ಕೋಪದ ಅಪವಿತ್ರ ಅಥವಾ ಅಶ್ಲೀಲ ಅಭಿವ್ಯಕ್ತಿ

🇮🇳Malayalam

വിസ്തൃതമായ

അശ്ലീലമോ അശ്ലീലമോ ആയ പദപ്രയോഗം സാധാരണയായി ആശ്ചര്യമോ ദേഷ്യമോ ആണ്

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਵਿਅੰਗਾਤਮਕ

ਅਸ਼ਲੀਲ ਜਾਂ ਅਸ਼ਲੀਲ ਪ੍ਰਗਟਾਵਾ ਆਮ ਤੌਰ 'ਤੇ ਹੈਰਾਨੀ ਜਾਂ ਗੁੱਸੇ ਦਾ

🇵🇰Urdu

فضول

عام طور پر حیرت یا غصے کا ناپاک یا فحش اظہار

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

咒骂的

通常表示惊讶或愤怒的亵渎或淫秽的表达

🇯🇵Japanese

罵倒的な

通常驚きや怒りを表す冒涜的または卑猥な表現

🇰🇷Korean

조어

일반적으로 놀라움이나 분노를 표현하는 욕설이나 음란한 표현

🇻🇳Vietnamese

tục tĩu

biểu hiện tục tĩu hoặc tục tĩu thường là ngạc nhiên hoặc tức giận

🇹🇭Thai

คำสบถ

การแสดงออกที่หยาบคายหรือลามกอนาจาร มักจะแสดงความประหลาดใจหรือโกรธ

🇮🇩Indonesian

kata lontaran

ekspresi yang tidak senonoh atau tidak senonoh, biasanya berupa keterkejutan atau kemarahan

🇵🇭Filipino

panunumpa

bastos o malaswang pagpapahayag na kadalasang sorpresa o galit

🇲🇾Malay

mengumpat

ungkapan profan atau lucah biasanya terkejut atau marah

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

كلمة بذيئة

التعبير البذيء أو الفاحش عادة عن المفاجأة أو الغضب

🇮🇷Persian

جنجالی

بیان توهین آمیز یا زشت معمولاً تعجب یا خشم

🇹🇷Turkish

küfür

genellikle şaşkınlık veya öfkeyi ifade eden saygısız veya müstehcen ifade

🇮🇱Hebrew

נפרץ

ביטוי גס או מגונה בדרך כלל של הפתעה או כעס

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'expletive'?

The primary meaning of 'expletive' is 'profane or obscene expression usually of surprise or anger'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'expletive' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'expletive' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'expletive' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'expletive' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'expletive' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'expletive' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'expletive' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'expletive' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'expletive' in a professional email?

Very likely

Somewhat likely

Not very likely

Never

Would you classify 'expletive' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

Pick an option to see how others voted