What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

What is the difference between oath and expletive?

oath | expletive |

As nouns the difference between oath and expletive

is that oath is a solemn pledge or promise to a god, king, or another person, to attest to the truth of a statement or contract while expletive is a profane, vulgar term, notably a curse or obscene oath.

As a verb oath

is (archaic) to pledge.

As a adjective expletive is

serving to fill up, merely for effect, otherwise redundant.

oath

English

(wikipedia oath)

Noun

(en noun)
  • A solemn pledge or promise to a god, king, or another person, to attest to the truth of a statement or contract
  • * 1924 , Aristotle, Metaphysics , Translated by W. D. Ross. Nashotah, Wisconsin, USA: The Classical Library, 2001. Available at: . Book 1, Part 3.
    • for they made Ocean and Tethys the parents of creation, and described the oath of the gods as being by water,
  • The affirmed statement or promise accepted as equivalent to an oath .
  • A light or insulting use of a solemn pledge or promise to a god, king or another person, to attest to the truth of a statement or contract the name of a deity in a profanity, as in swearing oaths .
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-14, author= Sam Leith
    • , volume=189, issue=1, page=37, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Where the profound meets the profane , passage=Swearing doesn't just mean what we now understand by "dirty words". It is entwined, in social and linguistic history, with the other sort of swearing: vows and oaths'. Consider for a moment the origins of almost any word we have for bad language – "profanity", "curses", "' oaths " and "swearing" itself.}}
  • A curse.
  • (legal) An affirmation of the truth of a statement.

    • Synonyms

  • pledge, vow, avowal

    • Derived terms

    * oathbound * oathbreaker * oathless * under oath

    Related terms

    * bloody oath (Australian slang) * fucking oath (Australian slang)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (archaic) to pledge
  • shouting out (as in 'oathing obsenities')

    • External links

    * (wikipedia "oath")

    Anagrams

    * (l)

    expletive

    English

    (wikipedia expletive)

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Serving to fill up, merely for effect, otherwise redundant.
  • * Hallam
    • Expletive imagery.
  • * Barrow
    • Expletive phrases to plump his speech.
  • Marked by expletives (phrase-fillers).

    • Synonyms

    * expletory

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A profane, vulgar term, notably a curse or obscene oath.
  • (linguistics) A word without meaning added to fill a syntactic position.
  • (linguistics) A word that adds to the strength of a phrase without affecting its meaning; an intensifier.

    • References

    *