Make Your Point > Archived Issues > EXPLETIVE
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pronounce
EXPLETIVE:
Say it "ECKS pluh div."
To hear it, click here.
Or, if you want to sound more precise or formal, say "ECKS pluh tiv."
connect this word to others:
Today's word, expletive, belongs to a family of words that come from the Latin for "fill," plere.
That explains why expletive looks a bit like complete, deplete, and __plete (meaning "totally filled," as in "Gwen Stefani's 'Hollaback Girl' is __plete with expletives").
When you look at the words complete and deplete, you might wonder if expletive has its own verb form, explete. It does! We hardly ever use it, but why not? "Gwen Stefani expleted all over 'Hollaback Girl.'"
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
The word "expletive" has Latin bits that mean "filling (something) out." More specifically, the ex- bit means "out," and the plet bit means "filling."
"Expletive" came into English around 1450 and first described words and phrases that filled out (or completed) a sentence or a line of poetry without actually adding anything to the meaning. We might still use this meaning today while talking about poetry or grammar. To rephrase that, an expletive can be a word or phrase that completes a line or a sentence but doesn't actually mean much.
Starting around 1647, we've also used "expletive" to mean "a curse word, or a swear word," because people often fill up their speech with these without changing the meaning of what they're saying. That's the definition of "expletive" that we use much more often today.
Arguably, if you're filling up your speech with certain expletives, they are adding to the meaning of what you're saying, possibly by setting a strong tone. But they can also just work as stylistic filler.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Noun, the countable kind: "Her songs have an occasional expletive."
Other forms:
We use the plural, "expletives," quite a lot: "The song isn't quite the same after you bleep out the expletives."
Rarely, "expletive" is an adjective: "Even without the expletive language, his stories are hilarious."
Like I mentioned earlier, there's a rare, slangy verb, "explete," that you might use if you're going for a silly tone. It works both intransitively ("She stubbed her toe, expleting loudly") and transitively ("She stubbed her toe, expleting a string of Shakespearean curses").
how to use it:
When you need to maintain a formal or family-friendly tone as you talk about vulgar, profane, or obscene words or phrases, call them "expletives."
The word "expletive" is so lofty and scholarly-sounding, and so fully in contrast with the base language it describes, that it's often funny on its own. Here's Geetanjali Dighe: "I recently tried to tell my phone to add a certain item to a certain list... the program simply lost context. Frustrated, I used some choice expletives, then promptly apologized to the phone, as many of us do."
examples:
"There was something a little extra with Rocky Horror. The film preached acceptance, regardless of personal differences, and put it all under the banner, 'Don't dream it, be it'... And you even get to throw food, shout expletives at the screen, and wear fishnets."
— Jenn Dlugos, Classic Horror, 18 September 2004
"[The F-word] transformed itself into one of the most powerful English expletives, meaning something like 'Die before your time!' The unspeakable malevolence of the message is now buried deep inside the word."
— Lewis Thomas, The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher, 1974
has this page helped you understand "expletive"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "expletive" without saying "a profane word" or "an unprintable word."
try it out:
In Elton John's song "You Can Make History (Young Again)," there aren't any expletives in the profane sense, but there are some expletives in the poetic or grammatical sense. I've underlined some:
"And oh babe, you can make history, young again.
You could rewrite, you could decide
The things that should or shouldn't have been."
As you can see, the words "and oh babe" don't really add much to the meaning, but they do complete the rhythm of the line. They're expletives.
Talk about a song you love. Does it contain any expletives in the profane sense? How about in the poetic or grammatical sense? What are they? Even though expletives are basically filler, do these expletives add anything to the song? If you delete them, have you changed the song significantly?
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game this month is "Serious Words, Silliest Names."
Match each word to the silly name it evokes. For example, match "pecuniary" to Owen Cash, "hoodwink" to Howie Cheatham, and "debacle" to Oliver Sutton.
To see the answers, scroll all the way down. Enjoy!
Try these today:
DEUS EX MACHINA: _____
IMMUTABLE: _____
OBSOLESCENT: _____
TENDENTIOUS: _____
ZERO-SUM: _____
Anne Teak
Eileen Pharr
Nick O. Time
Raynor Schein
Will Win
review this word:
1.
One opposite of EXPLETIVES is
A. HATEFUL SPEECH.
B. MEANINGFUL SPEECH.
C. PHATIC SPEECH (spoken for social reasons only).
2.
In "Once More With Feeling," the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire slayer, Spike sings, "No! I'll save her, then I'll kill her!," and Willow follows up with an expletive: "_____."
A. Say that louder, also shriller
B. I think this line's mostly filler
C. That's a threat that's bound to thrill her
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
On vocabulary...
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.
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A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Today's word, expletive, belongs to a family of words that come from the Latin for "fill," plere.
The word "expletive" has Latin bits that mean "filling (something) out." More specifically, the ex- bit means "out," and the plet bit means "filling."
Part of speech:
When you need to maintain a formal or family-friendly tone as you talk about vulgar, profane, or obscene words or phrases, call them "expletives."
"There was something a little extra with Rocky Horror. The film preached acceptance, regardless of personal differences, and put it all under the banner, 'Don't dream it, be it'... And you even get to throw food, shout expletives at the screen, and wear fishnets."
Explain the meaning of "expletive" without saying "a profane word" or "an unprintable word."
In Elton John's song "You Can Make History (Young Again)," there aren't any expletives in the profane sense, but there are some expletives in the poetic or grammatical sense. I've underlined some:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. |