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expletive
noun
- an oath or exclamation, esp. an obscenity
- a word, phrase, etc. not needed for the sense but used merely to fill out a sentence or metrical line, for grammar, rhythm, balance, etc.: there in “there is nothing left” is an expletive
- Rare anything serving as a filler
adjective
used to fill out a sentence, line, etc.
also expletory
See expletive in American Heritage Dictionary 4
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