I. ˈeksplə]d.iv, ]tiv, chiefly Brit ekˈsplē] or ikˈs-\ adjective
Etymology: Late Latin expletivus, from Latin expletus (past participle of explēre to fill, from ex- ex- (I) + plēre to fill) + -ivus -ive; akin to Latin plenus full — more at full
1.
a. : serving to fill up or added to fill out
expletive phrases … to plump his speech — Isaac Barrow
b. of a word : used as a grammatical subject or grammatical object
2. : marked by the use of expletives
resigned his post in a letter of great expletive violence — F.M.Ford
II. noun
( -s )
1.
a. : a syllable, word, or phrase inserted to fill a vacancy (as in a sentence or a metrical line) without adding to the sense
while expletives their feeble aid do join and ten low words oft creep in one dull line — Alexander Pope
especially : an expletive word (as it in “it is easy to say so” or it in “make it clear which you prefer”)
b. : an exclamatory word or phrase ; especially : one that is obscene or profane
wrote with chalk on the steps and doors the old four-letter Anglo-Saxon expletives — Shelby Foote
2. : one that serves as a filler or is added as a filling
a gooseberry tart with other ornamental expletives of the same kind — Richard Graves
he is a sort of expletive at the table serving to stop gaps — O.W.Holmes †1935