definition of expletive
expletive (plural expletives) 1  A profane, vulgar term, notably a curse or obscene oath. ( 2 linguistics) A word without meaning added to fill a syntactic position. ( 3 linguistics) A word that adds to the strength of a phrase without affecting its meaning; an intensifier.
expletive (comparative more expletive, superlative most expletive) 1  Serving to fill up, merely for effect, otherwise redundant. 2  Marked by expletives (phrase-fillers).