Expletive infixation

Expletive infixation is a process by which an expletive or profanity is inserted into a word, usually for intensification. It is similar to tmesis, but not all instances are covered by the usual definition of tmesis because the words are not necessarily compounds.[1]

The most commonly inserted English expletives are adjectival: either participles (fucking, mother-fucking, freaking, blooming, bleeding, damned, wretched) or adjectives (bloody).

  1. ^ McMillan, James B. (1980). "Infixing and Interposing in English". American Speech. 55 (3): 163–183. doi:10.2307/455082. JSTOR 455082.