expectant
Americanadjective
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having expectations; expecting.
an excited, expectant audience.
-
pregnant; expecting.
an expectant mother.
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characterized by expectations.
an expectant attitude.
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in expectation; expected; prospective.
an expectant fortune.
noun
adjective
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expecting, anticipating, or hopeful
an expectant glance
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having expectations, esp of possession of something or prosperity
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pregnant
an expectant mother
noun
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a person who expects something
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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
Etymology
Origin of expectant
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin expectant- (stem of expectāns ), present participle of expectāre to expect; -ant
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.
They said the measures they have established on top of the regulations, including personalised plans for areas such as nutrition, psycho-social and wellbeing, physiotherapy and sleep help "break down barriers" for expectant mothers.
From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026
Ammar al-Buhaisi, who lives in Deir al-Balah, is struggling to get enough food, let alone new clothes for his children -- and has been avoiding their expectant questions.
From Barron's • Mar. 17, 2026
In one, rugmakers patiently sit with their weavings—a calmly expectant snapshot that reflects on the final days the artist spent waiting for the birth of his child.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 26, 2026
Prof Grainne McAlonnan, from King's College London, said expectant mothers "do not need the stress of questioning whether medicine most commonly used for a headache could have far reaching effects on their child's health".
From BBC • Jan. 16, 2026
He was right there, standing straight and expectant as though he’d known she would come.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
