expletive
/ˈɛksplətɪv/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.54 in modern English
21
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Marked by expletives (phrase-fillers).
Example Sentences
- "No one entered more fully than Shakespeare into the character of this species of poetry, which admits of no expletive imagery, no merely ornamental line."
- "deprecating being taken for ſerious, or to be underſtood that he meaneth any thing by them; but only that he uſeth them as expletive phraſes ... to plump his ſpeech, and fill up ſentences."
- "If we don't take advantage of any [expletive] in any way, then it's our loss."
Etymology
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”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: explētīvus, explētus
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɛksplətɪv/
- British English: /ɪkˈspliːtɪv/