expectant

[ik-spek-tuh nt] /ɪkˈspɛk tənt/
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
5.
a person who expects or who waits in expectation.
Origin
1350-1400; Middle English < Latin expectant- (stem of expectāns), present participle of expectāre to expect; see -ant
Related 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
Examples from the web for expectant
  • Today expectant parents concerned about the diseases that could afflict their unborn children don't have a lot of options.
  • The scientists also asked expectant couples what names they'd consider inflicting on their children.
  • He gives a short speech from the stage and the audience pauses, expectant.
  • He stands and begins pacing, as the other expectant fathers do.
  • The swimmer lifts his towel to gain time, wondering about the strange, expectant trio that watches him.
  • The mood was expectant, spirits generally high, though not without a dampening note of ambivalence.
  • At the same time, many expectant mothers are perplexed by the toxins conundrum.
  • There were four younger siblings viewing him with grieving and expectant eyes.
  • We struggle with how difficult it is to feel needy and expectant.
  • And the mood remains constant: silent, intimate, expectant.
British Dictionary definitions for expectant

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
4.
a person who expects something
5.
(obsolete) a candidate for office, esp for ecclesiastical preferment
Derived Forms
expectantly, adverb
Word Origin and History for expectant
adj.

late 14c., from Old French expectant or directly from Latin expectantem/exspectantem (nominative expectans/exspectans), present participle of expectare/exspectare (see expect). Related: Expectantly. As a noun, from 1620s.

expectant in Medicine

expectant ex·pec·tant (ĭk-spěk'tənt)
adj.
Pregnant.