Fact-checked by Grok 2 weeks ago

Expletive

An expletive is an exclamatory word or phrase, often profane or obscene, uttered to express strong emotions such as anger, pain, or surprise.^[1]^[2] In linguistics and grammar, it also refers to a syntactic element, such as "it" in "It is raining" or "there" in "There exists a solution," that occupies a required structural position without conveying substantive meaning or reference.^[1]^[3] The term derives from Late Latin expletivus, meaning "serving to fill out," from the verb explēre ("to fill"), reflecting its original association with padding sentences or metrical lines in poetry and prose.^[4] Profane expletives, while culturally variable and subject to taboos, function across languages to provide emotional release or emphasis, though their use can provoke social or legal repercussions in formal contexts.^[5] Grammatical expletives, by contrast, highlight languages' structural demands, appearing in constructions that prioritize syntax over semantics, as observed in English existential sentences.^[6]

Definition and Etymology

Grammatical Usage

In linguistic syntax, expletives—also termed dummy subjects or pronouns—are non-referential elements inserted into a sentence to fulfill structural requirements, such as providing a subject position, without conveying semantic meaning or referring to any entity. These elements satisfy grammatical rules like subject-verb agreement in English, where a sentence requires an explicit subject even if the true content is extraposed or impersonal. Unlike referential pronouns, expletives lack antecedents and do not contribute to the propositional content, serving purely formal roles derived from the language's syntactic architecture.^[7] English employs two primary expletive pronouns: it and there. The expletive it appears in impersonal constructions expressing weather, time, distance, or states, as in "It is raining" (where it holds the subject slot but denotes no specific referent) or "It is three o'clock," fulfilling the verb's need for a nominative case subject without semantic load.^[7] Similarly, there functions in existential sentences to introduce the existence of entities, such as "There is a book on the table," where there occupies the subject position, delaying the actual logical subject ("a book") and enabling the verb "to be" to agree properly, though the construction can often be rephrased for conciseness without loss of truth (e.g., "A book is on the table").^[6] These usages trace to English's pro-drop prohibition, unlike null-subject languages such as Spanish, where equivalents like "Llueve" omit the dummy entirely. Expletive constructions can delay emphasis or introduce clauses, as in cleft sentences like "It was John who arrived," where it frames the focus without inherent reference, or in extraposed structures like "It seems that the economy is recovering," postponing the subordinate clause for stylistic or rhythmic effect.^[6] While grammatically obligatory in standard English to avoid ungrammaticality (e.g., "*Is raining" violates subject requirements), overuse in formal prose is critiqued for weakening directness, as noted in style guides recommending inversion to foreground content-bearing elements.^[6] Empirical analysis of corpora confirms expletives' prevalence in written English, comprising up to 5-10% of subject positions in narrative texts, underscoring their role in maintaining syntactic well-formedness across genres.

Profane Usage

Profane expletives, distinct from their syntactic counterparts, function primarily as taboo-laden expressions that invoke violations of social, religious, or bodily norms to convey heightened emotional states such as anger, frustration, or surprise.^[8] These words derive potency from their association with forbidden topics, including sexuality, excretion, and blasphemy, enabling speakers to breach conversational politeness maxims for emphatic effect.^[9] Empirical analyses indicate that profane usage often serves expressive purposes, with swear words amplifying the intensity of statements, as in adverbial intensification (e.g., "bloody" or "fucking" modifiers in British and American English dialects).^[10] In interpersonal contexts, profane expletives facilitate abusive or directive functions, such as insults or threats, by directly referencing bodily functions or divine irreverence to demean or assert dominance.^[11] For instance, referential swearing targets individuals with terms evoking sexual acts or illegitimacy, while exclamatory forms like "damn" or "hell" provide cathartic release during stress, supported by studies showing reduced perceived pain when swearing is vocalized compared to neutral utterances.^[9] ^[11] This usage correlates with psychological benefits, including emotional regulation and honesty signaling, though overuse may desensitize listeners and erode perceived credibility in formal settings.^[11] ^[10] Cross-linguistic patterns reveal profane expletives' adaptability, with English favoring coprolalic (excrement-related) and sexual terms, while equivalents in other languages emphasize blasphemy or kinship insults; however, their core role remains tied to emotional amplification rather than literal semantics.^[12] Frequency data from corpus linguistics, such as the British National Corpus, document profane words comprising under 0.5% of everyday speech yet disproportionately driving affective content in informal discourse.^[8] Despite potential social costs like ostracism, profane usage persists due to its evolutionary utility in signaling unfiltered authenticity and group solidarity.^[11]

Functions and Linguistic Role

Expressive and Emotional Roles

Expletives function primarily to externalize intense emotional states, such as anger, frustration, surprise, or even exhilaration, in ways that neutral vocabulary cannot match due to their taboo-breaking nature and heightened arousal potential.^[13] Linguistic analysis identifies swearing as a distinct emotional speech act that signals genuine affective intensity, often bypassing literal semantics to prioritize visceral impact.^[9] This role stems from expletives' ability to evoke physiological responses, including elevated heart rate and skin conductance, which mirror the speaker's internal arousal and thereby authenticate the emotion conveyed.^[13] Empirical studies demonstrate that uttering expletives can modulate emotional processing, particularly in response to pain or stress, by providing a cathartic outlet that temporarily reduces perceived discomfort. In a controlled experiment, participants who repeated a swear word while submerging their hand in ice water endured the pain for approximately 40 seconds longer than those using a neutral word, suggesting swearing activates hypoalgesic mechanisms possibly linked to fight-or-flight responses.^[14] This effect, replicated in subsequent research, indicates swearing's utility in emotional regulation during acute distress, though habitual overuse may diminish its potency through desensitization.^[15] Beyond pain, profanity correlates with honest emotional disclosure, as frequent swearers exhibit greater sincerity in self-reports, implying expletives serve as markers of unfiltered authenticity rather than mere aggression.^[16] While expletives amplify negative emotions like rage—facilitating tension release without physical escalation—they also appear in positive contexts, such as triumphant exclamations, underscoring their versatility in emotional signaling across valence.^[9] Neuroimaging evidence further supports this, showing swear words processed in brain regions associated with emotion (e.g., amygdala) more than semantic content alone, reinforcing their role as direct conduits for affective states over propositional meaning.^[14] However, cultural and individual variability influences efficacy; in high-context societies, expletives' emotional punch relies on shared taboos, and overuse risks diluting expressive power.^[13] Expletives facilitate social bonding by signaling in-group membership and authenticity among peers, particularly in informal settings where shared profanity reinforces solidarity and trust. Research shows that swearing frequency increases with relational closeness, as individuals employ expletives more with friends than acquaintances to convey emotional genuineness and mutual understanding.^[17]^[18] This dynamic aligns with pragmatic functions where profanity breaks taboos to build intimacy, often interpreted as a marker of honesty rather than deceit.^[11] In hierarchical contexts, such as workplaces, expletives modulate power dynamics; leaders' use can project a permissive culture that fosters camaraderie but may erode respect if perceived as unprofessional or aggressive. Employees differentiate between mild and severe swearing, with the former sometimes enhancing team cohesion while the latter risks exclusion or reputational harm in diverse groups.^[19]^[20] Multilingual teams exhibit varied perceptions, where second-language speakers may swear more freely, altering interpersonal signaling and group identity.^[21] Interpersonally, expletives express relational aggression or defense, escalating conflicts by asserting dominance or diffusing tension through cathartic release, though outcomes depend on contextual norms and recipient sensitivity. Profanity's taboo nature heightens its interpersonal impact, often amplifying emotional expression in ways that polite language cannot, thereby influencing perceptions of sincerity and emotional investment.^[8]^[22]

Historical Development

Origins in Ancient Societies

Evidence of expletive-like language appears in Sumerian literature dating to around 2100 BCE, where insults incorporated references to bodily functions and sexual acts, such as shed meaning "to defecate" in the Debate between Bird and Fish, or ngish dug denoting "to copulate" or "to fuck."^[23] These terms were employed in polemical texts and complaints, reflecting early use of taboo bodily and sexual vocabulary to demean opponents, though surviving documents are primarily formal and limit explicit vulgarity.^[24] In ancient Greece, from the 6th century BCE onward, profanity manifested in oaths invoking deities like Zeus (mà tòn Día, "By Zeus!") and insults targeting sexual deviance or effeminacy, as seen in the poetry of Hipponax and comedies of Aristophanes (c. 446–386 BCE), who used terms like pygizō ("to sodomize") and kinaidos (a pathic male).^[25] Curse tablets, or katadesmoi, inscribed on lead from the 5th century BCE, exemplify ritual cursing; these binding spells, often targeting legal rivals or lovers, invoked chthonic gods like Hades to "bind" enemies' actions, such as silencing witnesses in court, and were a socially tolerated practice among amateurs and professionals.^[26] Roman society, building on Greek precedents, employed similar curse tablets (defixiones) from the 2nd to 4th centuries CE, as evidenced by over 130 examples from Bath, England, where individuals petitioned deities like Sulis Minerva to punish thieves or inflict harm, using phrases demanding retribution on body parts or fortunes.^[27] Profanity centered on sexual taboos, particularly passive roles undermining masculinity, with obscenities tied to excrement and copulation reflecting cultural preoccupations rather than religious sacrilege, distinct from later Judeo-Christian emphases.^[28] These practices indicate expletives originated as tools for social control, rivalry, and emotional release, rooted in universal taboos around the body and the divine.

Evolution in English and Modern Languages

The evolution of expletives in English traces back to Old English, where terms derived from Proto-Germanic roots described bodily functions and sexual acts without inherent taboo, such as scitan for defecation, appearing in records like the Domesday Book of 1086 as place names like "Schitebroc".^[29] Following the Norman Conquest in 1066, a linguistic divide emerged: Germanic-derived Old English words retained by the lower classes became stigmatized as vulgar, while Norman French supplied elevated synonyms, embedding a cultural prejudice that transformed everyday Anglo-Saxon terms into profanities.^[30] This shift is evident in cognates like English "shit" aligning with German scheissen rather than French chier, reflecting persistent Germanic substrate in base vocabulary despite Romance dominance in formal lexicon.^[30] In Middle English, religious oaths dominated expletives under Christian influence, with profanities invoking divine elements like "By God's bones" peaking in offensiveness due to perceived sacrilege against Christ's body, as documented in medieval texts.^[28] Sexual terms gained traction concurrently; "fuck," of Germanic origin related to verbs meaning "to strike" or "move vigorously," appears in 13th-century records such as 1287 Sherwood Forest documents naming individuals like Ric Wyndfuk, and a 1310 Cheshire court case involving Roger Fuckebythenavele, though non-proper-name uses emerge around 1475.^[31] By the Renaissance, post-Protestant Reformation in the 1500s, blasphemy declined as primary taboo, yielding to scatological and sexual words resembling modern usage, with Shakespeare employing puns on such terms in plays like Henry V.^[28]^[31] The 18th and 19th centuries marked a "Great Shift" in English, where religious oaths waned amid secularization and Enlightenment rationalism, elevating bodily function words to peak taboo status during the Victorian era, when even mild terms faced censorship in print.^[28] World War I (1914–1918) accelerated normalization through soldiers' vernacular in trenches and wartime reporting, broadening acceptability; by the mid-20th century, media liberalization post-1960s counterculture further eroded restrictions, with terms like "fuck" entering mainstream literature and broadcast by the 1970s.^[28]^[31] In other modern European languages, parallel evolutions occurred, rooted in Indo-European substrates and Christian taboos that initially emphasized blasphemy before shifting to corporeal themes.^[29] Germanic languages like Dutch and German retain cognates such as fokken and ficken for sexual expletives, mirroring English patterns, while Romance languages like French and Italian preserved religious profanities longer, with Italian dialects favoring blasphemous compounds like porco Dio (pig God) into the 20th century due to Catholic cultural dominance.^[29] Secularization across Europe in the 20th century homogenized usage toward sexual and excretory terms, though regional variations persist, such as German's inventive noun compounds for insults versus French's emphasis on maternal or bestial imagery.^[29]

Cultural and Linguistic Variations

Cross-Cultural Taboos and Equivalents

Taboo words, defined as terms evoking strong negative emotional responses due to violation of cultural norms, exhibit both universal patterns and significant cross-cultural variations. Across 13 languages spoken in 17 countries, empirical ratings from over 1,000 participants consistently identify sex-related terms (e.g., references to genitalia or intercourse) and ethnic/racial slurs as highly offensive, with low valence and high arousal scores.^[32] These categories dominate taboo rankings globally, reflecting shared human sensitivities to reproduction, bodily privacy, and social exclusion, though their precise equivalents differ linguistically.^[33] Cultural specificities arise from historical, religious, and societal influences, altering the relative taboo strength of categories. In Catholic-influenced regions like Italy and Québec, blasphemy invoking deities or sacraments ranks highly offensive; Italian speakers employ over 24 church-related terms, such as variants of "fucking God," due to proximity to the Vatican and entrenched traditions.^[34] Conversely, Dutch profanity often references diseases like "kanker" (cancer), evoking historical plagues, while Russian cursing centers on genitalia for broad expressive insult.^[35] In East Asian contexts, such as Cantonese, maternal insults like "I fuck your mother" parallel English familial slurs in potency, emphasizing honor taboos over explicit sex acts alone.^[32] Equivalents to English expletives like "fuck" or "cunt" vary in semantic content but converge on emotional impact. Slavic languages, including Polish, use "kurwa" (whore) as a versatile intensifier akin to "fuck," applicable to frustration or emphasis.^[35] Finnish "vittu" (cunt) and Japanese "baka" (idiot) serve similar roles in direct affronts, though Japanese avoids overt vulgarity, favoring indirect social violations like improper address forms.^[35] German compound innovations, such as "hodenkobold" (testicle goblin), expand profane lexicon beyond bodily basics, yielding an average of 53 taboo terms per dialect.^[34] Religious contexts amplify taboos: Islamic traditions deem profanity involving Allah or family haram, with equivalents to blasphemy carrying severe social penalties, while Hinduism discourages vulgarity toward deities as ritually impure, though less codified than in Abrahamic faiths.^[33]^[36] These patterns underscore that while swearing fulfills comparable expressive functions worldwide—intensifying emotion or signaling solidarity—taboo enforcement reflects localized causal factors, such as secularization weakening religious oaths in Western Europe versus persistent sanctity in theocratic societies.^[32] Multi-lab data confirm sociocultural modulation, with slurs more taboo in diverse Anglophone nations than homogeneous ones, challenging assumptions of uniform offensiveness.^[32]

Influences of Religion and Society

Religious doctrines in Abrahamic traditions have profoundly shaped taboos against expletives, particularly those invoking divine names or concepts, viewing them as violations of sacred reverence. In Christianity, the Third Commandment explicitly prohibits taking the Lord's name in vain, interpreted by theologians to encompass profane oaths and blasphemous exclamations like "Jesus Christ" as casual expletives, which demean divine holiness and equate to verbal idolatry.^[37] Similarly, New Testament teachings, such as Matthew 5:22, classify derogatory speech as akin to murder in intent, reinforcing profanity's moral equivalence to deeper ethical breaches.^[38] Judaism prohibits nivul peh (foul speech), including curses and vulgarities, as a desecration of human dignity modeled after divine speech, with Leviticus 19:14 and 24:10-16 banning specific blasphemies and insults against the deity or others.^[39] Rabbinic texts extend this to everyday obscenities, deeming them erosive to communal purity. In Islam, foul language constitutes a major sin, with hadiths attributing to the Prophet Muhammad the statement that "Allah has forbidden Heaven to the users of foul language," linking it to spiritual impurity and social discord.^[40] Quranic verses, such as Surah Al-Mu'minun 23:3, praise believers who avoid vain or indecent talk, framing expletives as antithetical to faith.^[41] Societal norms historically amplified these religious strictures, embedding profanity within class and moral hierarchies; in medieval Europe, ecclesiastical influence rendered religious oaths the gravest profanities, outranking sexual or scatological terms in severity.^[28] Catholic-dominated regions, like Quebec or parts of Latin America, sacralized such taboos, transforming liturgical terms (e.g., "tabarnak" from tabernacle) into potent expletives reflective of suppressed clerical authority.^[42] As secularization progressed from the Enlightenment onward, religious sway waned, shifting societal tolerance toward profanity—evident in post-20th-century Western cultures where expletives detached from theological censure, though residual norms persist in conservative communities.^[43] This evolution underscores religion's causal role in originating and sustaining verbal taboos, with societal enforcement varying by institutional dominance.

Psychological and Physiological Effects

Evidence of Positive Impacts

Research indicates that uttering expletives can elicit a hypoalgesic response, enhancing tolerance to acute physical pain through heightened physiological arousal. In a 2009 controlled experiment involving 67 participants, those instructed to repeat a personally selected swear word during the cold pressor test—submerging their hand in ice water at 5°C—endured the stimulus for a mean duration of 40.2 seconds, compared to 31.5 seconds when repeating a neutral word, yielding a 28% increase in tolerance; heart rate rose by 14.5 beats per minute versus 7.5 in the neutral condition, and self-reported pain intensity decreased.^[44] This effect is attributed to swearing's activation of limbic structures, triggering a catecholamine-mediated response similar to the fight-or-flight mechanism, which modulates nociception.^[45] Subsequent replications have confirmed the robustness of this hypoalgesia across demographics, with conventional taboo words outperforming novel or non-taboo alternatives; for instance, a 2020 study found that authentic expletives extended cold pressor endurance by up to 33% relative to invented terms, underscoring the role of cultural taboo in eliciting the response.^[46] Physiologically, this aligns with elevated autonomic activation, including increased skin conductance and heart rate variability, without reliance on mere distraction.^[13] Expletives have also been linked to short-term gains in physical strength and endurance, potentially via motivational disinhibition. A 2017 investigation demonstrated that repeating a swear word boosted grip strength by approximately 4.5% over neutral repetition, with similar enhancements in anaerobic power output during cycling sprints.^[47] A 2024 mini-review of five trials reported consistent improvements in metrics like peak power, push-up endurance, and time to exhaustion, averaging 4-5% gains, independent of sympathetic overactivation.^[48] Psychologically, these effects may stem from swearing's capacity to signal heightened commitment or aggression, fostering self-efficacy in demanding tasks.^[49] While direct evidence for broad psychological benefits like sustained stress reduction is sparser, swearing's cathartic properties—evident in reduced perceived pain and emotional arousal—suggest utility in acute frustration management, as supported by correlations between profanity use and lower self-reported distress in controlled settings.^[9] However, benefits diminish with habitual use due to desensitization, limiting long-term applicability.^[50]

Evidence of Negative Impacts

Exposure to profanity has been associated with heightened relational and physical aggression in experimental settings. A study examining media profanity found positive correlations between profanity use in media, permissive beliefs about swearing, personal profanity habits, and both relational aggression (e.g., social exclusion tactics) and physical aggression, with standardized beta coefficients indicating modest but significant links (β = 0.12 for relational aggression, β = 0.08 for physical aggression).^[51] Profanity often coincides with reduced self-control, serving as a marker of impulsive behavior rather than deliberate expression, which exacerbates aggressive tendencies in high-stress contexts.^[52] Habitual swearing correlates negatively with conscientiousness, a key personality trait linked to self-discipline and reliability, potentially undermining long-term mental health stability.^[53] In healthcare environments, patient swearing is frequently tied to verbal aggression, including threats and insults, which strains practitioner-patient interactions and contributes to burnout among mental health nurses exposed to such language daily.^[54] Swearing at others during conflicts can inflict lasting relational damage, signaling elevated stress and poor emotional regulation, as excessive profanity use reflects underlying mood disturbances rather than catharsis.^[55] Physiologically, hearing or reading swear words triggers autonomic arousal, including elevated heart rate and skin conductance, indicative of a stress response akin to threat detection.^[56] This arousal can prompt broader physiological stress in listeners, particularly in sensitive populations, amplifying cortisol levels and sympathetic nervous system activation.^[57] Among children and adolescents, parental or media exposure to harsh verbal discipline involving swearing predicts internalizing problems like anxiety and externalizing behaviors such as defiance, with longitudinal data showing 50% rates of such discipline directed at teens correlating with poorer socioemotional outcomes.^[58] Early swearing acquisition mirrors general vocabulary development but risks normalizing aggression if modeled without context, potentially hindering impulse control formation during critical developmental windows.^[9]

Censorship and Media Regulations

In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates broadcast media under 18 U.S.C. § 1464, which prohibits the utterance of obscene, indecent, or profane language over radio communications, with potential fines or imprisonment for violations.^[59] Indecent and profane content, including expletives depicting sexual or excretory organs or activities in a patently offensive way, is barred from airing on television and radio between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when children may be exposed without parental supervision.^[60]^[61] These restrictions do not apply to cable, satellite, or internet streaming services, which face no federal content mandates beyond general obscenity laws, leading to more permissive profanity use on platforms like premium cable networks.^[62] Censorship techniques such as audio bleeping or muting emerged in U.S. broadcasting during the mid-20th century, particularly after the 1950s when television expanded into households, to comply with emerging decency standards enforced by networks and regulators.^[63] The practice gained cultural notoriety through comedian George Carlin's 1972 monologue listing "seven dirty words" deemed unsayable on television, which prompted FCC complaints and shaped subsequent enforcement policies following a 1978 Supreme Court ruling affirming broadcast-specific regulations.^[64] Fleeting or isolated expletives in live broadcasts have resulted in multimillion-dollar fines, such as the $550,000 levied against CBS in 2004 for incidents during the Super Bowl halftime show.^[65] In the United Kingdom, Ofcom's Broadcasting Code governs offensive language on television and radio, requiring that strong expletives like "fuck" or "cunt" be avoided before the 9 p.m. watershed unless contextually justified, with stricter protections during times when children are likely to be viewing (Rules 1.14–1.16).^[66] Public tolerance for non-discriminatory swearing has increased, with 2021 surveys showing audiences more accepting of accidental profanity if followed by apologies, though complaints persist for repeated or uncontextualized use.^[67] Internationally, media regulations on expletives differ markedly; Russia implemented a nationwide ban on profanity in films, theater, television, and print media effective July 2014, mandating bleeping or removal with fines up to 800,000 rubles for distributors.^[68] In film classification, countries like South Africa and the United States demonstrate heightened sensitivity to profanity counts, often requiring cuts or triggering restrictive ratings, whereas European nations apply contextual assessments via bodies like the British Board of Film Classification.^[69] These variations reflect cultural norms, with authoritarian regimes imposing blanket prohibitions and liberal democracies favoring time-based or audience-warned allowances.

Free Speech and Legal Precedents

In the United States, the First Amendment generally protects the use of expletives as a form of expressive speech, provided they do not fall into unprotected categories such as obscenity, fighting words, or true threats.^[70] This protection stems from the principle that offensive or profane language alone does not justify government censorship in public forums, as determined in landmark rulings emphasizing the robustness of free discourse even when it provokes discomfort.^[71] A pivotal precedent is Cohen v. California (1971), where the Supreme Court overturned the conviction of Paul Cohen for wearing a jacket emblazoned with "Fuck the Draft" in a Los Angeles courthouse corridor.^[70] In a 5-4 decision authored by Justice John Harlan II, the Court held that the phrase constituted political expression protected against state prohibition under California Penal Code § 415, rejecting arguments that it constituted offensive conduct, fighting words, or obscenity.^[71] The ruling clarified that words acquiring vulgar connotations over time retain First Amendment safeguards absent a direct incitement to violence or breach of specific legal thresholds, influencing subsequent cases on symbolic and verbal profanity in non-commercial public settings.^[72] In contrast, broadcast media face narrower protections due to their pervasive reach and potential exposure to unintended audiences, particularly children. Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation (1978) upheld the FCC's authority to sanction a New York radio station for airing George Carlin's "Filthy Words" monologue, which repeated seven expletives 80 times.^[73] The 5-4 majority, led by Justice John Paul Stevens, deemed the content "indecent" but not obscene under Miller v. California (1973) standards, justifying regulation under 18 U.S.C. § 1464 because radio's intrusive nature warranted contextual restrictions unavailable in print or public speech.^[74] This decision carved out an exception for over-the-air broadcasting, though it explicitly did not extend to other media like cable or the internet, where First Amendment scrutiny is stricter.^[75] Subsequent precedents have reinforced broad protections for expletives outside regulated contexts. For instance, Texas v. Johnson (1989) extended Cohen's logic to symbolic acts involving profanity-adjacent expression, invalidating flag desecration bans that suppressed offensive messages. In workplaces and schools, however, restrictions persist under standards like Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) for substantial disruption, as seen in a 2025 Sixth Circuit ruling upholding a Michigan school's ban on "Let's Go Brandon" apparel—interpreted as a profane euphemism—due to its vulgarity in a minor-supervised environment.^[76] Overall, U.S. jurisprudence prioritizes speaker autonomy over audience sensibilities for mere expletives, limiting government intervention to empirically demonstrable harms rather than subjective offense.^[77]

Contemporary Usage and Trends

Profanity in Media and Digital Culture

In broadcast media, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enforces restrictions on profanity under 18 U.S.C. § 1464, prohibiting obscene content at all times and indecent or profane language during the 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. "safe harbor" period when children may be audience.^[59] The Supreme Court's 1978 decision in FCC v. Pacifica Foundation upheld this authority, stemming from a complaint over George Carlin's "Filthy Words" routine aired in 1973, establishing that context matters in defining indecency as patently offensive descriptions of sexual or excretory activities.^[75] These rules apply only to over-the-air TV and radio, not cable or satellite, leading to bleeping or editing of expletives in live broadcasts, as seen in fleeting expletive policies refined post-2004 Super Bowl halftime show fines.^[78] Streaming services and cable networks operate without FCC indecency oversight, enabling greater profanity use; for instance, Netflix and Prime Video series often feature uncensored language in TV-MA equivalents, contrasting with broadcast's self-censorship to avoid fines up to $550,000 per violation.^[79]^[80] Basic cable has trended toward leniency, with the F-word appearing in TV-14 rated shows by 2022, driven by competition from on-demand platforms.^[81] In digital culture, profanity has normalized on social media, where it functions for emphasis, rapport-building, and persona enhancement rather than solely insult, per linguistic analyses of platforms like Twitter and Reddit.^[82]^[83] A 2025 corpus study of 1.7 billion online words found Americans lead in frequency, with "fuck" as the most common expletive (597 variants tracked), while Generation Z integrates swearing positively into casual discourse more than prior cohorts.^[84]^[85] Platforms vary: YouTube updated monetization in 2023 and 2025 to permit limited strong profanity after initial seconds, reversing stricter 2019 rules amid creator pushback and advertiser tolerance shifts.^[86] TikTok enforces community guidelines against excessive vulgarity but allows contextual use, often self-censored via asterisks; Twitter (now X) post-2022 relaxed moderation, prioritizing free expression over profanity bans.^[87] Studies indicate profanity boosts perceived authenticity in digital interactions, correlating with higher engagement in reviews and vlogs, though it risks alienating audiences in professional contexts.^[88]^[89] This shift reflects broader desensitivity, with online swearing evading traditional taboos via creative spellings and memes, yet prompting platform tools for profanity detection to mitigate toxicity.^[90]

Recent Research and Societal Shifts

A 2025 corpus analysis of 1.7 billion words from online texts across 20 English-speaking countries identified the United States as having the highest profanity rate at 0.036%, surpassing nations like the United Kingdom and Australia, with "fuck" emerging as the most prevalent expletive in datasets.^[91]^[92] In contrast, research on British English corpora documented a decline in swear word usage exceeding 25% since the 1990s, attributed to evolving linguistic norms rather than stricter censorship.^[91] These findings highlight regional divergences in expletive frequency, influenced by cultural and digital contexts. Generational studies from 2024-2025 reveal heightened swearing among younger cohorts, with Generation Z reporting an average of 24 instances per day compared to 10 for Baby Boomers, linked to semantic shifts where expletives function more as emphatic tools than strict insults.^[93]^[94] Psycholinguistic examinations of undergraduates indicate Generation Z's propensity stems from pragmatic adaptation in informal discourse, including digital platforms, where profanity conveys authenticity or emotional release without traditional taboo connotations.^[95]^[85] Societal attitudes have shifted toward greater tolerance, particularly in casual and online settings, with surveys showing reduced aversion to swearing compared to prior decades, fostering normalization in media and youth culture.^[96]^[97] Screen entertainment data from 2023 onward documents escalating profanity in films and streaming content, correlating with broader cultural desensitization, though empirical links to audience behavior remain correlative rather than causal.^[98] This trend coincides with observations of profanity's pragmatic evolution, serving self-defense or emotional outlets in high-stress environments, yet persists amid debates on its erosion of linguistic precision.^[11]^[97]

References

[1]
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expletive
[2]
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/expletive
[3]
What Are Expletives in English Grammar? - ThoughtCo
Mar 16, 2019 · In general usage, an expletive is an exclamatory word or expression, often one that's profane or obscene.
[4]
Expletive - Etymology, Origin & Meaning
a word or phrase serving to fill out a sentence or metrical line, from French explétif (15c.) and directly from Late Latin expletivus "serving to fill out."
[5]
EXPLETIVE Definition & Meaning - Dictionary.com
an interjectory word or expression, frequently profane; an exclamatory oath. a syllable, word, or phrase serving to fill out.
[6]
Grasping the Grammatical Expletive
Expletives introduce clauses and delay sentence subjects. Unlike nouns and verbs, which have well-defined roles in expression, expletives do not add to sense ...
[7]
Expletive Pronouns in English
Mar 25, 2022 · They are used only to make a sentence grammatical. There are only two expletive pronouns in English, IT and THERE.Missing: syntax | Show results with:syntax
[8]
[PDF] The pragmatics of swearing
Abstract. The main purpose of swearing is to express emotions, especially anger and frustration. Swear words are well suited to express emotion as their pri ...
[9]
The Science of Swearing
Apr 25, 2012 · Swearing isn't a matter of what is being said, but what people intend when they say them. Excuse the profanity, but “Sh*t” and “Crap” are used ...
[10]
The Power of Profanity: The Meaning and Impact of Swear Words in ...
Jan 24, 2022 · The Power of Profanity: The Meaning and Impact of Swear Words in Word of Mouth ... Indeed, participants attributed swearing to the reviewer when ...
[11]
Profanity as a Self-Defense Mechanism and an Outlet for Emotional ...
May 3, 2023 · The objectives of using profane language include social bonding, handling emotional and physical pain, emotional catharsis, expressing power and ...
[12]
The Linguistics of Swearing Explain Why We Substitute Darn for Damn
Languages from Hindi to Korean tone down swear words by inserting gentler consonants into speech. Here's how “Let's go Brandon” got started.
[13]
The power of swearing: What we know and what we don't
Swearing produces effects that are not observed with other forms of language use ... We suggest that punitive reactions to cursing endow curse words with ...
[14]
The psychology of swearing, with Richard Stephens, PhD
Do curse words exist in every language? Do people generally swear more than they used to in everyday life? And if they do, might swearing lose some of its power ...
[15]
Swearing – the language of life and death | BPS
Sep 25, 2013 · So, our research shows that swearing can help people better tolerate pain, that too much swearing in everyday situations can reduce its ...
[16]
Frankly, do we give a damn…? Study finds links between swearing ...
Jan 16, 2017 · Psychologists have learned that people who frequently curse are being more honest. Writing in the journal Social Psychological and Personality ...<|separator|>
[17]
[PDF] Do we swear more with friends or with acquaintances? F#ck in ...
The state-of-the-art in swearing research has shown that researchers have plenty of information on the most frequent swear words in a range of English varieties ...
[18]
Swearing as an interpersonal communication activity
Nov 3, 2018 · 'Fk yea I swear: Cursing and gender in MySpace'. Corpora 3:83-107. Vingerhoets, A. et al. (2013). 'Swearing: A biopsychosocial perspective'.
[19]
Swearing at work and permissive leadership culture - ResearchGate
Aug 6, 2025 · The purpose of this paper is to examine the use of expletives and swearing in the workplace. It proposes to challenge leadership style and to suggest ideas for ...
[20]
Swearing, identity and power in professional interaction
In a multilingual mixed team of L1 and L2 speakers, perceptions of swearing might thus differ. L2 speakers self-report to swear more frequently in their L2 than ...
[21]
(PDF) Swearing, identity and power in professional interaction
Offensive Language Taboo, Offence and Social Control. Bloomsbury, London. Osborne, D., 2020. Maledictive language: cursing and swearing. Int. Encycl. Linguist.<|separator|>
[22]
[PDF] Perception of Profanity in Interpersonal Relationships - Spark
Since it is so common, the use of profanity is something nearly everyone has experienced and been affected by. The effects of swearing can be interpersonal and ...
[23]
Are there any known profanity words in sumerian?...
Jul 6, 2018 · Feel free to also check out my Sumerian insults post for some more family-friendly mean language. The most common “curse word” in Sumerian ...
[24]
https://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/cgi-bin/etcsl.cgi?text=t.5.3.5&display=Crit&charenc=gcirc&lineid=t535.p1#t535.p1
[25]
Ancient Greek Swear Words - Tales of Times Forgotten
Feb 20, 2021 · Below is a fairly extensive list of various oaths, insults, sexual vocabulary, and vocabulary related to human waste in Ancient Greek.
[26]
Ancient Greek Curse Tablets - The Fathom Archive
Most of these curses, inscribed on small sheets of lead that range in size between a business card and a playing card, had been edited in the early twentieth ...
[27]
Roman curse tablets - Roman Baths
The Roman curse tablets are the personal and private prayers of 130 individuals inscribed on small sheets of lead or pewter.Missing: Greece | Show results with:Greece
[28]
The History of Swear Words: Where the &%@! Do They Come From?
Jun 14, 2023 · Swear Words in Ancient Rome ... The history of swearing is filled with fascinating twists and turns. But, perhaps surprisingly, obscenity in Latin ...
[29]
English swearing's European origins - The Conversation
Mar 15, 2018 · Many English swear words have come from different languages over the centuries. For example, the classics – “fuck”, “shit” and “cunt” – are words the language ...
[30]
Swear words, etymology, and the history of English | OUPblog
Jul 11, 2015 · Those words that we now call swear words have acquired their power to offend, at least in part, because a long-term cultural prejudice has ...Missing: profanity | Show results with:profanity
[31]
A Brief History of the Most Famous Swear Word in the World
Nov 5, 2024 · "Fuck" is of Germanic origin, related to words in other Germanic languages. Early English examples include a 1310 court record and a 1373 ...
[32]
Taboo language across the globe: A multi-lab study - PMC
The use of taboo words represents one of the most common and arguably universal linguistic behaviors, fulfilling a wide range of psychological and social ...
[33]
(PDF) Taboos and Swearing: Cross-Linguistic Universalities and ...
The present paper gives a brief discussion of the problems of verbal taboos and swearing from a cross-linguistic perspective.
[34]
Italian blasphemy and German ingenuity: how swear words differ ...
Oct 19, 2025 · On average, people swear once for every two minutes of speech. This rate, however, can vary widely depending on the setting, the topic and the ...Missing: modern | Show results with:modern
[35]
Mind your language! Swearing around the world - BBC
Mar 6, 2015 · Strong language is common to most cultures, but what makes a word profane, and how does cursing vary from place to place?
[36]
Foul Language In A Muslim's Life? - Farhat Hashmi
Stay away from foul language, cussing and evil words, because YOU are a Mu'min and a Mumin does not utter filthy words or cuss at anyone.
[37]
Is Cursing a Sin? What the Bible Says About Swearing & Profanity
May 20, 2024 · Cursing involves calling down harm or evil, while swearing often refers to making solemn promises or oaths. Blasphemy is a whole different level.
[38]
Profanity Is Worse Than You Think - The Gospel Coalition
Aug 10, 2020 · According to Jesus, the hard truth is that insulting someone by calling them stupid (fool/raca/worthless one) is murderous profanity, a hell- ...
[39]
The Torah on Dirty Words - Guest Columnists - Parshah - Chabad.org
What is the Jewish stance on cursing and curse words? I've heard the line that our bodies are a temple, and that defaming G‑d's name is very bad, ...Missing: taboos | Show results with:taboos
[40]
Chapter 62: Tongue Lashing and Impertinence - Al-Islam.org
Islamic Laws ... Using bad words is haram and is considered a major sin. The Prophet of Islam has said: “Allah has forbidden Heaven to the users of foul language.
[41]
Is Cursing Prohibited in Islam? - Islam Question & Answer
May 25, 2025 · Cursing in Islam is subject to specific guidelines. General curses against evildoers and disbelievers are permissible, while cursing individuals is disputed ...
[42]
Swearing - Quick and Dirty Tips
Taboos also vary from culture to culture. For example, in French- and Spanish-speaking countries, where the Catholic church has had a strong influence, religion ...
[43]
Swearing & Post-Boomer Generations: Literary Progress? - Patheos
Jun 17, 2019 · As Nathaniel mentioned, “cussing is frowned upon in” Christian social contexts. Thus, as those contexts lessen in influence and in people's ...
[44]
Swearing as a response to pain - PubMed
Aug 5, 2009 · This study investigated whether swearing affects cold-pressor pain tolerance (the ability to withstand immersing the hand in icy water), pain ...
[45]
F@#$ pain! A mini-review of the hypoalgesic effects of swearing
Jun 13, 2024 · The pain modulating effect of swearing captured attention on a grand scale, with a Netflix show History of Swear Words and MythBuster's episode ...
[46]
Swearing as a Response to Pain: Assessing Hypoalgesic Effects of ...
Apr 30, 2020 · Research has shown that repeating a swear word can be an effective way of increasing tolerance for the physical pain of an ice water challenge ( ...
[47]
Effect of swearing on strength and power performance - ScienceDirect
The power of swearing: What we know and what we don't · Neuromodulation of cursing in American English: A combined tDCS and pupillometry study · The sound of ...<|separator|>
[48]
Effect of swearing on physical performance: a mini-review - PMC - NIH
Nov 11, 2024 · ... empirical research, habituation to swearing has been ... The power of profanity: the meaning and impact of swear words in word of mouth.
[49]
Effect of swearing on strength: Disinhibition as a potential mediator
Repeating a swear word benefits physical strength, and humour mediates this effect. Swearing also increased risky behavior.
[50]
Swearing as a Response to Pain—Effect of Daily Swearing Frequency
This paper assesses whether habituation to swearing occurs such that people who swear more frequently in daily life show a lesser pain tolerance effect of ...
[51]
[PDF] Profanity in Media Associated With Attitudes and Behavior ...
Associations between profanity in media, beliefs about profanity, profanity use, and physical and relational aggression. Numbers represent standardized.
[52]
[PDF] PROFANITY, SELF-CONTROL, AND AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR By
Similar to aggression, lack of self-control seems to be a consistent contextual factor that coincides with the use of profanity. Jay (1992) found that swearing ...Missing: health | Show results with:health
[53]
Frankly, We Do Give a Damn: The Relationship Between Profanity ...
Profanity refers to obscene language including taboo and swear words, which ... Swearing has also been shown to hold a negative relationship with the ...
[54]
An overview of swearing and its impact on mental health nursing ...
Aug 6, 2025 · Background: Verbal aggression and swearing are the most frequently encountered violence in the health care industry. Nurses are the most ...
[55]
Cursing a Lot? | Psychology Today
Aug 1, 2023 · Your use of profanity can be a good indicator of your overall stress level and mood. Swearing at others in an argument can be irreversibly ...
[56]
What the f@#$ is up with the science of cursing - WHYY
Sep 19, 2016 · “Profanity has relatively reliable effects on human physiology,” said Bergen. “Hearing or reading a swear word leads to an increase in heart ...<|separator|>
[57]
Foul Language Prompts Physiological Stress In Response - NABHS
Foul Language Prompts Physiological Stress In Response. NABHS - Blog - Stress ... Studies have found that the use of profanity can prompt a physiological ...Missing: expletives | Show results with:expletives
[58]
Longitudinal Links between Fathers' and Mothers' Harsh Verbal ...
Strikingly, the rate of severe verbal discipline (e.g., swearing and cursing, calling a name) directed at adolescents was 50%. However, extant studies have ...
[59]
Broadcast of Obscenity, Indecency, and Profanity
Dec 20, 2022 · Section 1464, “[w]hoever utters any obscene, indecent, or profane language by means of radio communication shall be fined under this title or ...
[60]
Obscene, Indecent and Profane Broadcasts
Jan 13, 2021 · Indecent and profane content are prohibited on broadcast TV and radio between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m., when there is a reasonable risk that children ...
[61]
Broadcast Content Regulation Under Federal Law - Justia
Jul 1, 2025 · Profane material is also restricted to the hours between 10 PM and 6 AM. According to the FCC, profane material is grossly offensive language ...
[62]
Indecency and the Electronic Media | The First Amendment ...
Aug 2, 2023 · After the Pacifica ruling, the FCC began issuing rules to define indecent and profane speech and to prohibit the broadcast of such material ...
[63]
Curses! The birth of the bleep and modern American censorship
Aug 27, 2013 · The bleep of censorship invariably draws attention to the material it was intended to conceal; circles it, if you like, by loudly omitting it.
[64]
Indecency, Obscenity, Profanity and the 7 Words Forbidden by the ...
Indecency, Obscenity, Profanity and the 7 Words Forbidden by the FCC · Back to FCC / IRS Regulations Menu · It is forbidden to broadcast these words on the radio:.
[65]
Regulation of Obscenity, Indecency and Profanity - Entertainment Law
The FCC restricts broadcasting of indecent material by prohibiting station licensees from broadcasting such materials during the period from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., ...
[66]
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-guidance/programme-guidance/broadcast-code-guidance/offensive-language.pdf
[67]
Public attitudes towards offensive language on TV and radio revealed
Sep 22, 2021 · Viewers and listeners have told Ofcom they are generally more relaxed about most swearing on TV and radio, particularly if it is accidental and an apology ...
[68]
Russian law bans swearing in arts and media - BBC News
May 5, 2014 · Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law banning all swearing in films, television broadcasts, theatres and the media.
[69]
Which countries are most offended by swearing in films?
Sep 29, 2024 · South Africa and the United States emerged as the countries most sensitive to swearing in films. Both exhibit a striking Pearson correlation coefficient of 0. ...Missing: international | Show results with:international
[70]
Cohen v. California | 403 U.S. 15 (1971)
Appellant Paul Robert Cohen was convicted in the Los Angeles Municipal Court of violating that part of California Penal Code § 415 which prohibits "maliciously ...
[71]
Cohen v. California | Oyez
Feb 22, 1971 · Paul Cohen was charged under a California statute that prohibits maliciously and willfully disturb[ing] the peace and quiet of any neighborhood or person by ...
[72]
Cohen v. California (1971) | The First Amendment Encyclopedia
Jan 1, 2009 · In Cohen v. California, 403 US 15 (1971), the Supreme Court established that the government generally cannot criminalize the display of profane words in public ...
[73]
FCC v. Pacifica Foundation | 438 U.S. 726 (1978)
The FCC sent a letter of reprimand to Pacifica for violating its rules against broadcasting indecent content.
[74]
Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation - Oyez
The Court held that limited civil sanctions could constitutionally be invoked against a radio broadcast of patently offensive words dealing with sex and ...
[75]
Federal Communications Commission v. Pacifica Foundation (1978)
Jan 1, 2009 · FCC said radio station could face sanctions for playing program with profanity. The case began in October 1973 when a man, who was riding in a ...
[76]
https://reason.com/2025/10/27/the-6th-circuit-upholds-a-schools-sweatshirt-censorship-because-lets-go-brandon-is-plainly-vulgar/
[77]
Profane or Indecent Speech Cases
Profane or Indecent Speech Cases. Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942) established that fighting words are not protected by the First Amendment.
[78]
The FCC and Profane Language: The Lugubrious Legacy of a Moral ...
This Article examines the Federal Communications Commission's (“FCC”) regulation of profane language since 2004. That year is when the FCC, facing a moral panic ...
[79]
FCC guidelines on profanity do not apply to cable networks | Reuters
Dec 1, 2023 · Indecency and profanity are prohibited on broadcast media during specific times when children may be watching, as listed by the FCC, but are not ...
[80]
FCC Censorship Rules Vary for Broadcast, Cable, and Streaming
Aug 16, 2017 · The FCC censorship rules are not "one size fits all" across broadcast, cable, and streaming networks.<|separator|>
[81]
The F-word has taken over TV - Deseret News
Sep 22, 2022 · The F-word has creeped into advertising-supported basic cable and also some streaming series that are rated TV-14.
[82]
Swearing is becoming more widely acceptable, linguistics experts ...
Jan 6, 2024 · Swearwords increasingly used for emphasis and to build social bonds, rather than to insult, say academics.
[83]
The role of swearing in creating an online persona
This article is an investigation of the use of English-language swear words by Swedish, non-native speaker PewDiePie in the context of self-recorded, ...
[84]
201 ways to say 'f**k': what 1.7 billion words of online text shows ...
Jun 15, 2025 · Americans use “fuck” most frequently, while Australians use it the least, but with the most creative spelling variations (some comfort for ...
[85]
[PDF] The Usage of Swear Words Among Generations X, Y and Z in Rivers ...
Feb 4, 2025 · Generation Z uses swear words more often and with a more positive attitude, incorporating them into everyday conversations face-to-face and even ...
[86]
YouTube Eases Its Monetization Restrictions on Bad Language
Jul 30, 2025 · YouTube sought to address the concerns about profanity in 2023, by reducing its restriction on ads to only videos that included strong profanity ...
[87]
YouTube is adjusting its swearing policy thanks to creator backlash
Included in the changes was an adjustment to their inappropriate language guidelines: videos with profanity in the first 8 seconds are demonetized and those ...
[88]
How profanity in influences perceived authenticity and perceived ...
In fact, research has shown that the use of profanity can enhance the success of certain online personas, as discourse containing swear words often appears more ...
[89]
The Effects of Profanity in Online Reviews: A Provocative Study
Apr 26, 2023 · The Effects of Profanity in Online Reviews: A Provocative Study - American Marketing Association. ... Third, some cultures may use swear words ...
[90]
Why Profanity Analysis Matters in Social Media Monitoring - MarkovML
Apr 24, 2024 · Profanity analysis is the process using which computers detect the use of profane language on social media or other online platforms where users post text.
[91]
What 1.7 billion words of online text show about how the world swears
Jun 12, 2025 · Use of swear words has declined by more than a quarter in the UK since 1990s, says research. Aug 23, 2021. Researchers study how swearing gets ...
[92]
Americans Use More Curse Words Online Than Anybody Else In ...
Jun 13, 2025 · Researchers analyzed 1.7 billion words from 20 English-speaking nations, finding that the United States leads with a profanity rate of 0.036%.Missing: trends 2020-2025
[93]
Do Americans Swear More Than They Used To?
Nov 5, 2024 · According to one report, Baby Boomers use profanity 10 times a day, but members of Gen Z swear 24 times a day. Swearing certainly isn't anything ...
[94]
Why is Generation Z Prone to Swearing?: A Psycholinguistic Study ...
Aug 9, 2025 · The investigation revealed that there are two roles of cursing. According to the findings, the swear words acquired are employed to insult, to ...
[95]
(PDF) The Usage of Swear Words Among Generations X, Y and Z in ...
Feb 4, 2025 · The findings indicate possible changing attitudes towards profanity and a greater tolerance for and acceptance of its use, especially among ...
[96]
Swearing today: have our attitudes changed? - The Open University
Jun 5, 2024 · Are people less fussed about swearing today than they were in the past? This article (with an associated film 'Why do we swear?') looks at attitudes towards ...
[97]
profanity through time: a corpus-based and sociolinguistic study of ...
May 26, 2025 · Academic Press. 22. Hughes, G. (2006). An encyclopedia of swearing: The social history of oaths, profanity, foul language, and ethnic slurs.<|separator|>
[98]
A Study on Profanity Trends in Screen Entertainment
Nov 13, 2023 · This burgeoning propensity for profanity in screen entertainment raises important questions about the role of media regulators, the ...