Meaning of the word expletive in English
What does expletive mean in English? Explore the meaning, pronunciation, and specific usage of this word with Lingoland.
expletive
US /ˈek.splə.t̬ɪv/
UK /ɪkˈspliː.tɪv/
Noun
1.
an oath or swear word
Example:
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He uttered an expletive when he hit his thumb with the hammer.
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The movie was full of expletives, so it wasn't suitable for children.
2.
a word or phrase inserted into a sentence, especially for emphasis, that is not necessary to the meaning of the sentence
Example:
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The phrase 'there is' in 'There is a cat on the mat' is an expletive construction.
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In grammar, an expletive can be a word like 'it' or 'there' that fills a syntactic position but adds no semantic meaning.