pregnant
1 Americanadjective
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having a child or other offspring developing in the body; with child or young, as a woman or female mammal.
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fraught, filled, or abounding (usually followed bywith ).
a silence pregnant with suspense.
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teeming or fertile; rich (often followed byin ).
a mind pregnant in ideas.
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full of meaning; highly significant.
a pregnant utterance.
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of great importance or potential; momentous.
a pregnant moment in the history of the world.
adjective
adjective
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carrying a fetus or fetuses within the womb
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full of meaning or significance
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inventive or imaginative
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prolific or fruitful
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pregnant1
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin praegnant- (stem of praegnāns ), variant of praegnās, equivalent to prae- pre- + *gnāt- (akin to ( g ) nātus born, gignere to bring into being) + -s nominative singular ending
Origin of pregnant2
1350–1400; Middle English preignant < Old French, present participle of preindre, earlier priembre to press 1 < Latin premere. Cf. print
Explanation
If you are pregnant, you are carrying a developing baby in your body. If you are pregnant it is important to take excellent care of your health — it's good for tyou and good for the baby. Pregnant comes from Latin, and literally means "before giving birth" — prae-, like pre- means "before" and gnasci is a root that means "be born." Pregnant can also mean "filled with something," like inspiration or "rich in significance or implication," like your pregnant pause before answering your friend's question, "You like my new boyfriend, don't you?"
Vocabulary lists containing pregnant
"The Tragedy of Hamlet," Vocabulary from Act 2
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Vocabulary from Readings 2, Unit 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Cassidy noted that immunity can decline during pregnancy, making community vaccination particularly important for protecting pregnant women.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
She was pregnant with her son during her third year of medical school.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
And rubella risks causing severe birth defects in pregnant women.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
Benitez, then four months pregnant, was arrested alongside her partner Yolmer Escalona.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
There’s a pregnant woman next to us, and she lies on a blanket, rubbing her belly while her husband sits at her side.
From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
