as in curse
a disrespectful or indecent word or expression
unleashed a slew of expletives upon losing the tennis match
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of expletive
Peppiatt’s Irish-language film, riddled with expletives, hallucinogenics and baton twirling mischief, swept up at the British Independent Film Awards in December and on Wednesday, scored six BAFTA nods, including for best British film and outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer.
—
Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2025
During an initial court appearance Monday, Lever used an expletive to describe the district judge overseeing his case, NBC affiliate WITN of Greenville reported.
—Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 14 Jan. 2025
Shields felt they should be saved for a special occasion, to which her daughter replies with the above line — minus the expletive.
—Scarlett Harris, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2025
During the interview, Lopez dropped an expletive that the show censored on the air while the star gave a passionate explanation about self-funding the project.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for expletive 
Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Jan. 2025
During an initial court appearance Monday, Lever used an expletive to describe the district judge overseeing his case, NBC affiliate WITN of Greenville reported.
—Tim Stelloh, NBC News, 14 Jan. 2025
Shields felt they should be saved for a special occasion, to which her daughter replies with the above line — minus the expletive.
—Scarlett Harris, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2025
During the interview, Lopez dropped an expletive that the show censored on the air while the star gave a passionate explanation about self-funding the project.
—Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 10 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for expletive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expletive
Noun
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The verdict: Its flavor was nothing short of despicably vile, which made Orly’s nail-biting polish both a gift and a curse along my journey to end my bad habit.—
Jennifer Hussein,
Allure,
30 Jan. 2025
-
The long-standing curse of the new-music concert is a tendency toward miscellany.—
Alex Ross,
The New Yorker,
27 Jan. 2025
Noun
-
The station asked the band not to include the swears.—
Kris Holt,
Forbes,
2 Dec. 2024
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There’s a heavy focus on Asia’s first One&Only spa, featuring a green caviar body exfoliation and an Augustinus Bader facial celebs swear by.—
Katie Lockhart,
Robb Report,
11 Oct. 2024
Noun
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According to Quartz, those incidents included the airline removing a passenger for wearing a crop top and another wearing clothing with explicit language.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Jan. 2025
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Frank’s book, translated into more than 70 languages with over 30 million copies sold so far, reads like a nonfiction play at times.—
David G. Allan,
CNN,
27 Jan. 2025
Noun
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Later during general public comments, gun rights activist Christopher J. Grisham was removed from the court after using profanity during his comments.—
Cody Copeland,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 Jan. 2025
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According to the outlet, Bad Bunny suggested that his mom's preference likely comes down to his earlier project containing less profanity.—
Jordana Comiter,
People.com,
15 Jan. 2025
Noun
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The rhetorical question was asked tongue-in-cheek, but the suggestion that this great showman could be given the epithet reserved for only the most one-dimensional players underlines his efficiency.—
Charlie Eccleshare,
The Athletic,
19 Jan. 2025
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Even more of a jolt, in the original Broadway run, was Hammerstein’s lyric for the opening chorus, in which audiences heard Black singers identify themselves with the most severe racial epithet.—
Joshua Barone,
New York Times,
8 Jan. 2025
Noun
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As the Oxford English Dictionary notes, the expression not hardly is considered a vulgarism.—
NR Editors,
National Review,
16 Apr. 2020
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The British cringed over new American accents, coinages and vulgarisms.—
Time,
Time,
11 June 2019
Noun
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And, when the alarm wails hours before dawn, human cusses of angry protest join the chorus of budget appliances failing before their time.—
Virginia Konchan,
The New Yorker,
30 Sep. 2024
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My grandmother extended a ladder up into this tough old cuss of a tree and climbed up, at some risk, to pick the bulging fruit.—
Jim Meddleton,
The Christian Science Monitor,
1 May 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Expletive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expletive. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
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