How to Use expletive in a Sentence

expletive

noun
  • Angry expletives filled the air.
  • Expletives were deleted from the transcript of their conversation.
  • Some expletives were thrown out in the process.
    — Scott Thompson, FOXNews.com, 1 Feb. 2026
  • Don’t give a (expletive) about the loss.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Well, what the (expletive) does that mean?
    — Corey Masisak, Denver Post, 18 Apr. 2026
  • While an expletive is not spelled out in the post, the N-word is.
    — NBC News, 21 July 2021
  • You guys write that [expletive].
    — Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Feb. 2026
  • There wasn't a person in there that gave a (expletive).
    — Ed Masley, AZCentral.com, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Most of the messages were filled with expletives.
    — Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 25 Sep. 2025
  • He's been needing his [expletive] whooped for a minute.
    — Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Oct. 2025
  • Each room elicited an expletive, at least from my potty-mouth.
    — Charlotte Observer, 11 Sep. 2025
  • This certainly isn’t the first time there’s been an on-air flub with expletives.
    — Rachel McRady, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Some people don’t give a (expletive).
    — Alyssa Goldberg, USA Today, 16 Aug. 2025
  • Gipson used an expletive to describe the drive-by shooter and said the crime shook him up.
    — Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2021
  • The man driving then uttered an expletive at the man crossing.
    — Bob Dohr, Journal Sentinel, 8 Nov. 2022
  • Hartline floated an expletive amidst his moment with the crowd.
    — Hayden Grove, cleveland, 11 Sep. 2021
  • His one-word description of the defense was an expletive.
    — Dieter Kurtenbach, Mercury News, 4 Dec. 2025
  • Because a lot of people don’t believe in this [expletive].
    — Andrew McCarty, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Because a lot of people don’t believe in this [expletive].
    — Andrew McCarty, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025
  • On some of her livestreams, she can be seen screaming expletives in the face of police officers.
    — Brian Maass, CBS News, 1 Apr. 2026
  • They were pushed back by police as the crowd chanted an expletive at counterprotesters.
    — Washington Post, 11 Dec. 2020
  • This car will induce whiplash in the unprepared and expletives from those who have been forewarned.
    — Tim Stevens, ArsTechnica, 26 May 2026
  • When Hill asked why the man was harassing the deputy, the man used an expletive and said the deputy should pay his bill.
    — NBC News, 28 Apr. 2021
  • Jacobs opened the door while shouting expletives and saying his engine was out.
    — Anthony De Leon, Los Angeles Times, 5 Dec. 2023
  • After a wild few days with expletives and a brief rule change, tensions simmered and teams and players more or less moved on.
    — Sallee Ann Harrison, Chicago Tribune, 23 Feb. 2026
  • The officers can be heard yelling commands and expletives at Nichols.
    — Micaela A Watts, USA TODAY, 8 Mar. 2023
  • There’s also a fair amount of curse words in the show, but that’s because Folds uses expletives in his lyrics.
    — Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 July 2023
  • Enraged Celtics fans, hurling expletives and objects, are right on their heels.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 4 Aug. 2023
  • And the sooner you guys realize this (expletive) is the better.
    — Marlowe Alter, Detroit Free Press, 11 July 2023
  • Pullease told the officers on the scene a short time later, using an expletive, the footage shows.
    — Julian Mark, Washington Post, 25 July 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'expletive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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