expectant

[ik-spek-tuhnt]

adjective

1. having expectations; expecting.

   an excited, expectant audience.

2. pregnant; expecting.

   an expectant mother.

3. characterized by expectations.

   an expectant attitude.

4. in expectation; expected; prospective.

   an expectant fortune.

noun

1. a person who expects or who waits in expectation.

expectant

/ ɪkˈspɛktənt /

adjective

1. expecting, anticipating, or hopeful

   an expectant glance

2. having expectations, esp of possession of something or prosperity

3. pregnant

   an expectant mother

noun

1. a person who expects something

2. obsolete,  a candidate for office, esp for ecclesiastical preferment

Other Word Forms

• expectantly adverb
• half-expectant adjective
• half-expectantly adverb
• nonexpectant adjective
• nonexpectantly adverb
• overexpectant adjective
• overexpectantly adverb
• preexpectant noun
• quasi-expectant adjective
• quasi-expectantly adverb
• unexpectant adjective
• unexpectantly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of expectant¹

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin expectant- (stem of expectāns ), present participle of expectāre to expect; -ant

Example Sentences

Other expectant mums have been sent to hospital after being told an abnormality meant they would need to end the pregnancy only to find their baby was completely healthy.

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It found a series of patient safety concerns, including staffing shortages and delays in assessing expectant mums.

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At the “Share the Arrows” event, the vibe was excited and expectant.

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"We come together to bless a young expectant mother, we wish her lots of good health," she says.

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In common with some soon-to-be parents in other countries, some expectant moms in Japan are put off by safety fears, an issue amplified by the relative rarity of the procedure there.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal