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.
Too often, that clarity gets obscured by parental expectations and the allure of a state-of-the-art fitness center.
Wall Street has high expectations for the months ahead, following three straight years of double-digit gains for stocks.
The first is the forward price-to-earnings ratio, the gold standard that measures Wall Street’s future expectations; Essaye noted the “market only cares about what’s coming next.”
From Barron's
“Weapons” was such a hit that it overperformed at the box office, with revenue soaring past projected expectations.
From Salon
The new year comes with expectations of a fresh start.
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.
