expectation
Americannoun
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the act or the state of expecting.
to wait in expectation.
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the act or state of looking forward or anticipating.
- Synonyms:
- trust, hope, anticipation, expectancy
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an expectant mental attitude.
a high pitch of expectation.
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something expected; a thing looked forward to.
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Often expectations. a prospect of future good or profit.
to have great expectations.
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the degree of probability that something will occur.
There is little expectation that he will come.
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Mathematics, Statistics. mathematical expectation.
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the state of being expected.
a large sum of money in expectation.
noun
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the act or state of expecting or the state of being expected
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(usually plural) something looked forward to, whether feared or hoped for
we have great expectations for his future
their worst expectations
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an attitude of expectancy or hope; anticipation
to regard something with expectation
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statistics
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the numerical probability that an event will occur
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another term for expected value
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Other Word Forms
- expectational adjective
- expectationist noun
- expectative adjective
- overexpectation noun
- preexpectation noun
- superexpectation noun
Etymology
Origin of expectation
First recorded in 1530–40; from Latin ex(s)pectātiōn-, stem of ex(s)pectātiō “anticipation, suspense,” from ex(s)pectāt(us) (past participle of ex(s)pectāre “to look out for, await”) + -iō -ion; expect
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.
“From the way prices have moved, there seems to be a reaction in the market based on an expectation that things are going to wind down in a few weeks,” Butter said.
From Los Angeles Times
The softer GDP target was in line with our expectations.
From Barron's
“Most customers were willing to wait a few extra days as long as expectations were clear and the product delivered real value.”
And traders have pared back their expectations on rate cuts this year.
The economy shed 92,000 jobs last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday, coming much weaker than analysts’ expectation of a 60,000 gain.
From Barron's
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.
