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# expletive

noun (an expletive, expletives); adjective (formal)

«expletive» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. An expletive is a swear word or rude exclamation, said when angry, hurt or surprised. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expletive/#m1)
2. (grammar) An expletive is a word like «it» or «there» that fills a place in a sentence without meaning, as in «There is a cat» or «It is raining». [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expletive/#m2)

### In the lessons

In news and formal writing, «expletive deleted» shows a swear word was removed. Pupils meet it in stories and when talking about polite language. In grammar lessons it is a dummy word. Phrases: «expletive deleted», «a string of expletives».

### Examples

- He dropped the hammer on his toe and let out an expletive. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expletive/#x1)
- The newspaper replaced the expletive with stars. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expletive/#x2)
- Please don't use expletives in class. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expletive/#x3)
- A string of expletives came from the angry driver. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expletive/#x4)
- In «It is snowing», «it» is an expletive. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expletive/#x5)
- The coach shouted an expletive when the ball missed. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expletive/#x6)

### Note

Formal word for «swear word». Countable. Swear words are rude; use polite words in school. In grammar, the expletive «it» or «there» has no real meaning of its own.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «expletive» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/expletive/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«expletive» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/expletive.html) on Mova free.