expletive
/ˈɛksplətɪv/adjective, noun
expletive is spelled E-X-P-L-E-T-I-V-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 50,539th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, expletive means “Serving to fill up, merely for effect, otherwise redundant” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in expletive?
| Letters | 9: E-X-P-L-E-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 50,539th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is expletive?
Expletive appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 50,539th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce expletive?
- UK /ɪkˈspliːtɪv/
- US /ˈɛksplətɪv/
Expletive has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-expletive.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of expletive
- more expletive comparative
- most expletive superlative
- expletives plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does expletive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Serving to fill up, merely for effect, otherwise redundant.
- 2
Marked by expletives (phrase-fillers).
noun
- 1
A profane, vulgar term, notably a curse or obscene oath.
If we don't take advantage of any [expletive] in any way, then it's our loss.
- 2
A word without meaning added to fill a syntactic position.
- 3
A word that adds to the strength of a phrase without affecting its meaning (such as fucking in "there's no fucking way he's gonna get away with it").
- 4
An obscene or otherwise offensive interjection (such as shit, fuck, or damn it).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Expletive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | explétif |
| German | Füllwort , Expletivum, Expletiv |
| Portuguese | expletivo , expletiva |
| Spanish | expletivo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does expletive come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).