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
Many carried handwritten signs demanding that Immigration and Customs Enforcement leave Minnesota immediately, using the expletives against ICE that have been plastered all over the Twin Cities for more than weeks.
—
Jack Brook, Twin Cities, 25 Jan. 2026
At the Whipple federal building, a large group of federal officers clad in riot gear moved toward protesters, who responded with chants of expletives and boos.
—Natasha Bertrand, CNN Money, 18 Jan. 2026
Garcia responds to the officer using expletives.
—Shaquille Brewster, NBC news, 16 Jan. 2026
The whole issue of award show expletives came to the Supreme Court twice, the last time in 2012, when the justices struck down fines on Fox Television Stations over expletives uttered by Cher and Nicole Richie during the Billboard Music Awards, as well as nudity that aired on ABC’s NYPD Blue.
—Peter White, Deadline, 11 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for expletive
Jack Brook, Twin Cities, 25 Jan. 2026
At the Whipple federal building, a large group of federal officers clad in riot gear moved toward protesters, who responded with chants of expletives and boos.
—Natasha Bertrand, CNN Money, 18 Jan. 2026
Garcia responds to the officer using expletives.
—Shaquille Brewster, NBC news, 16 Jan. 2026
The whole issue of award show expletives came to the Supreme Court twice, the last time in 2012, when the justices struck down fines on Fox Television Stations over expletives uttered by Cher and Nicole Richie during the Billboard Music Awards, as well as nudity that aired on ABC’s NYPD Blue.
—Peter White, Deadline, 11 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for expletive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expletive
Noun
-
Those declines are making Berkshire's more than $350 billion in cash look more like a blessing than a curse.—
Alex Crippen,
CNBC,
7 Feb. 2026
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Classical Amid all the constant wondering of when things will get better, the slow drip of time may feel like a curse.—
Brian Seibert,
New Yorker,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Under the watchful eye of sheriffs deputies who threatened to ticket anyone caught standing in the road, along with a small number of National Guard members, the protesters took turns screaming swears and warming up in nearby parked cars.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
28 Jan. 2026
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If accumulation is the issue, Giaquinto swears by the five-second and five-year rules.—
Avery Newmark,
AJC.com,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Despite speaking different languages, Toro Sepulveda and Henry became close friends, both said.—
Nuria Martinez-Keel,
Oklahoma Voice,
10 Feb. 2026
-
The new program at Butler is one of just five Deaf education programs in the country with a focus on spoken language, according to the program’s website.—
Claire Rafford,
IndyStar,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Wright also said a teacher has been placed on administrative leave after a social media post circulated of the educator displaying protest signs -- which included profanity -- while on campus.—
Keri Heath,
Austin American Statesman,
3 Feb. 2026
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Public spaces are routinely polluted by blaring music packed with profanity and racial slurs, and no one thinks twice about it.—
Mike Bianchi,
The Orlando Sentinel,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
On that day, the mob hurled racist epithets, smoke bombs, and fists at him.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
4 Feb. 2026
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Vice Mayor Darian Martin, who is Black, condemned Urbom’s use of the racial epithet.—
Theo Karantsalis,
Miami Herald,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
As the Oxford English Dictionary notes, the expression not hardly is considered a vulgarism.—
NR Editors,
National Review,
16 Apr. 2020
-
The British cringed over new American accents, coinages and vulgarisms.—
Time,
Time,
11 June 2019
Noun
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Expletive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expletive. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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