Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

expletive deleted

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.53 in modern English

Syllables
ex-ple-tive delet-ed
IPA
30
Scrabble Score
16
Letters
4
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An all-purpose profanity.

Countable; Humorous; Uncountable

adj

An all-purpose profanity.

Humorous

verb

To have sex with.

Humorous

Example Sentences

Etymology

Attested since at least the 1930s, but popularized in the U.S. after the Watergate scandal, during which transcripts of conversations were published with profanity replaced by “[EXPLETIVE DELETED]”.

Usage

Inflected Forms

Synonyms

Questions

What does expletive deleted mean?
An all-purpose profanity.
Where does expletive deleted come from?
Attested since at least the 1930s, but popularized in the U.S. after the Watergate scandal, during which transcripts of conversations were published with profanity replaced by “[EXPLETIVE DELETED]”.

How to pronounce expletive deleted

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “expletive deleted”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “expletive deleted”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “expletive deleted” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.