expectant
/iks'pektənt/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
- Adjective:
- Having or showing an excited feeling that something is about to happen, especially something pleasant: Characterized by eager anticipation or hopeful waiting.
- Being in a state of pregnancy: Used to describe a woman who is expecting a baby.
Examples of Usage
Adjective (Anticipation):
- The crowd fell into an expectant silence as the speaker approached the podium.
- She had an expectant look on her face, waiting for the surprise to be revealed.
Adjective (Pregnancy):
- The clinic offers special classes for expectant mothers.
- They are expectant parents, preparing the nursery for their new baby.
Advanced Usage
- "Expectant of": Hopeful or confident about receiving something.
- The team was expectant of victory after their strong performance in the playoffs.
- Legal/Formal Context: Refers to someone with a prospect of future possession or title.
- He was the expectant heir to the estate.
Variants and Related Words
- Expectantly (adverb): In an expectant manner.
- The children waited expectantly for the magician's next trick.
- Expectancy (noun): The state of thinking or hoping that something, especially something pleasant, will happen.
- There was a feeling of great expectancy in the air before the announcement.
Synonyms
- Anticipatory: Characterized by anticipation.
- Hopeful: Feeling or inspiring optimism about a future event.
- Pregnant (for the biological sense): Carrying a developing fetus within the body.
Related Phrases
- Expectant mother: A woman who is pregnant.
- Parking spaces are reserved for expectant mothers.
- Expectant father: A man whose partner is pregnant.
- The expectant father attended all the prenatal appointments.
Adjective
- in an advanced stage of pregnancy
- was big with child
- was great with child
- marked by eager anticipation
- an expectant hush