ex·pec·tant
ik-ˈspek-tənt 
1
: characterized by expectation
2
: expecting the birth of a child
expectant mothers
expectantly
adverb
: one who is looking forward to something
Synonyms
Examples of expectant in a Sentence
Adjective
An expectant crowd waited for her arrival.
expectant crowds gathered at the spot where the President was scheduled to make an appearance
Noun
divinity students who were all expectants for a curacy
Recent Examples on the Web
Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 27 Apr. 2024
Hilton and Burke met each other in a Facebook group for expectant moms.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 26 Apr. 2024
Iowa is frigid; New Hampshire is icy; barren landscapes open up into hot rooms, flooded by television lights and filled with crowds of expectant, exuberant supporters.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2024
Adlon knows how to walk that fine line between sweet and vulgar, which comes in handy here since Glazer and Rabinowitz’s script is determined to milk every ounce of humor out of every ounce of bodily fluid that may be spilled, squirted or secreted by expectant moms.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2024
Among those who die, some are women; and among those women who die, some, in a particular tragedy, are expectant or recent mothers.
—Lyman R. Stone, National Review, 28 Jan. 2024
The expectant mom accessorized her daytime ensemble with brown tortoiseshell sunglasses and a large black and white tote bag, while her hair was styled into beachy waves.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 28 Feb. 2024
The expectant father-to-be suddenly finds himself in the kidnappers’ crosshairs, at the same time that larger forces are coming into play.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 12 Jan. 2024
The Troisgros kitchen combines the experimental exactitude of a laboratory with the creative spirit of an artist’s studio and the tensely expectant energy of the wings of a theatre, and Wiseman is alive to it all.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2023
Kirsty Hatcher, Peoplemag, 26 Apr. 2024
Messi had a goal and an assist, firing a stunning strike from distance that sent the expectant crowd wild.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 14 Apr. 2024
In the caption, the expectant mom took a minute to reflect on her emotions.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 21 Mar. 2024
The American Idol alum, 45, shared a carousel of new maternity photos on Instagram earlier this month, showing Ruben and his pregnant wife all dressed up as the expectant mom cradles her baby bump in a rust-colored gown.
—Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 26 Feb. 2024
Family began searching for Angelina Webster and Christian Norris, both 20, after the expectant parents disappeared while going to the movies at around 5 p.m. on Feb. 14, Birmingham police said in a news release.
—Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2024
At the governor's mansion, the expectant jubilation quickly turned into despair as Eisenhower won in a landslide.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 7 July 2023
When designing the space, there were a few things that the expectant mom knew had to make it into the space.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 25 Jan. 2024
The crowd was alive with an expectant buzz, as if at any minute figures would materialize in the distance, and the horror of the past seven weeks—the nearly fifteen thousand dead, the flattened neighborhoods in Gaza—would now be worth it.
—Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 10 Dec. 2023
Adjective
Austin and Lisa then walked in, with the expectant mom of two pushing her shirt away to reveal her growing bump and Austin placing his hands on her stomach.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 27 Apr. 2024
Hilton and Burke met each other in a Facebook group for expectant moms.
—Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 26 Apr. 2024
Iowa is frigid; New Hampshire is icy; barren landscapes open up into hot rooms, flooded by television lights and filled with crowds of expectant, exuberant supporters.
—Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 6 Mar. 2024
Adlon knows how to walk that fine line between sweet and vulgar, which comes in handy here since Glazer and Rabinowitz’s script is determined to milk every ounce of humor out of every ounce of bodily fluid that may be spilled, squirted or secreted by expectant moms.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2024
Among those who die, some are women; and among those women who die, some, in a particular tragedy, are expectant or recent mothers.
—Lyman R. Stone, National Review, 28 Jan. 2024
The expectant mom accessorized her daytime ensemble with brown tortoiseshell sunglasses and a large black and white tote bag, while her hair was styled into beachy waves.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 28 Feb. 2024
The expectant father-to-be suddenly finds himself in the kidnappers’ crosshairs, at the same time that larger forces are coming into play.
—Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 12 Jan. 2024
The Troisgros kitchen combines the experimental exactitude of a laboratory with the creative spirit of an artist’s studio and the tensely expectant energy of the wings of a theatre, and Wiseman is alive to it all.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2023
Noun
In the snapshot, the expectant mom teamed a pair of blue jeans with a cropped black top and a beige shirt jacket.
—Kirsty Hatcher, Peoplemag, 26 Apr. 2024
Messi had a goal and an assist, firing a stunning strike from distance that sent the expectant crowd wild.
—Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 14 Apr. 2024
In the caption, the expectant mom took a minute to reflect on her emotions.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 21 Mar. 2024
The American Idol alum, 45, shared a carousel of new maternity photos on Instagram earlier this month, showing Ruben and his pregnant wife all dressed up as the expectant mom cradles her baby bump in a rust-colored gown.
—Gabrielle Rockson, Peoplemag, 26 Feb. 2024
Family began searching for Angelina Webster and Christian Norris, both 20, after the expectant parents disappeared while going to the movies at around 5 p.m. on Feb. 14, Birmingham police said in a news release.
—Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 20 Feb. 2024
At the governor's mansion, the expectant jubilation quickly turned into despair as Eisenhower won in a landslide.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 7 July 2023
When designing the space, there were a few things that the expectant mom knew had to make it into the space.
—Hannah Sacks, Peoplemag, 25 Jan. 2024
The crowd was alive with an expectant buzz, as if at any minute figures would materialize in the distance, and the horror of the past seven weeks—the nearly fifteen thousand dead, the flattened neighborhoods in Gaza—would now be worth it.
—Anand Gopal, The New Yorker, 10 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'expectant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Expectant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/expectant. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
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