Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Having or marked by expectation.
  • adjective Pregnant.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Having expectation; expecting.
  • Looking forward with confidence; assured that a certain future event will occur.
  • In medicine, relating to or employed in the expectant method: as, an expectant medicine.
  • noun One who expects; one who waits in expectation; one held in dependence by his belief or hope of receiving some good.
  • noun In Scotland, a candidate for the ministry who has not yet received a license to preach.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One who waits in expectation; one held in dependence by hope of receiving some good.
  • adjective (Med.) Waiting in expectation; looking for.
  • adjective (Law) an estate in expectancy. See under Expectancy.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective marked by expectation
  • adjective pregnant

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective in an advanced stage of pregnancy
  • adjective marked by eager anticipation

Etymologies

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Examples

  • We are dealing now with "nurture," not with "nature," but we are dealing with a department of nurture which can only be understood when we realize that human beings begin their lives nine months or so before they are born, and that the first stage of their nurture is coincident with what we call expectant motherhood, whilst the second stage of their nurture, normally and properly, ought to be coincident with what we may call nursing motherhood.

    Woman and Womanhood A Search for Principles 1909

  • The expression of expectant success dropped from his face.

    I Am Not A Psychic! Richard Belzer 2009

  • She breathed through her mouth, her lips slightly parted, her expression expectant, patient, grown-up.

    Land Divers Messud, Claire 2009

  • The expression of expectant success dropped from his face.

    I Am Not A Psychic! Richard Belzer 2009

  • The expression of expectant success dropped from his face.

    I Am Not A Psychic! Richard Belzer 2009

  • So the faithful chanted his name in expectant happy rhythm when he came to the plate with a runner base in the second inning.

    Tigers showing no signs of slowdown 2006

  • He was moved to the area that we call the expectant room.

    CNN Transcript Dec 29, 2007 2007

  • He was moved to the area that we call the expectant room.

    CNN Transcript Nov 10, 2007 2007

  • Men enjoy the sport, because they can light their pipes and smoke in expectant ease; but the consolation of tobacco was debarred from boys who were, as Jim put it, "too young to smoke and too old to make idiots of themselves by trying it," and so they found it undeniably dull.

    A Little Bush Maid 1910

  • McKay is looking at John, his expression expectant, clearly waiting for John to fill out the details of his story.

    doggdot.us 2009

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