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.
Policymakers also often argue that monetary policy shouldn’t respond to volatile swings in oil—but that approach is easier to defend when inflation is low and expectations are stable.
From Barron's
The group had been raising their production quotas for most of last year, but paused those increases for the first quarter of 2026 on the heels of expectations for a global oil supply surplus.
From MarketWatch
The human-resources software group’s guidance missed Wall Street’s expectations and added fuel to investors’ recent worries over the risks that artificial intelligence poses to its business.
But new evidence suggests that expectation may not be accurate.
From Science Daily
What is a rather staid drama about the weight of social expectations on a relationship becomes a dramatically unexpected game of vengeance as Jennifer and Fernando grasp at any power they have over the other.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
