Word family noun expectancy expectation adjective expectant expected ≠ unexpected verb expect adverb expectantly unexpectedly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishexpectationex‧pec‧ta‧tion /ˌekspekˈteɪʃən/ ●●○ noun 1 [countable, uncountable]EXPECT what you think or hope will happenexpectation that For some time he lived with the expectation that he was going to die.in (the) expectation of something Anne left Germany in the expectation of seeing her family again before very long.against/contrary to (all) expectations Against all expectations, getting up at five is actually easier in winter. Having raised expectations (=made people more hopeful), he went on to help only a few people.above/below expectations Profits are below expectations.beyond (somebody’s) expectations Gina has succeeded beyond our expectations. The show exceeded all expectations (=was much better than expected).come/live up to (somebody’s) expectations His performance did not live up to our expectations (=was not as good as we expected). The number of people who attended fell short of expectations (=was lower than expected).2 [countable usually plural]EXPECT a feeling or belief about the way something should be or how someone should behaveexpectation of Women who have high expectations of marriage are often disappointed. Some people have totally unrealistic expectations of both medical and nursing staff.3 → expectation of lifeCOLLOCATIONS – Meanings 1 & 2adjectiveshigh (=expecting that someone or something will be successful)Like most parents, we have high expectations for our children.low (=expecting that someone or something will not be very successful)Their expectations of success were pretty low.great expectations (=very high)Emigrants sailed to America with great expectations.reasonable expectations (=the expectation that something will probably be successful, but may not be)It is a difficult operation, but we have reasonable expectations of success.realistic expectations (=the expectation that bad things can happen as well as good things)The disease is not curable, and patients must have realistic expectations.unreasonable/unrealistic expectations (=expectations that are too high)I think you had unrealistic expectations of what could be achieved in the time.legitimate expectations law (=expectations based on someone's legal rights)The men have legitimate expectations of a fair hearing.growing/rising/increased expectations (=becoming higher)China's economy will grow considerably over the next five years, bringing rising expectations of wealth.general/popular/widespread expectations (=shared by a lot of people)The general expectation was for married couples to have children.family/parental expectations (=expectations that families or parents have for their children)Parental expectations for a first child tend to be quite high.social expectations (=relating to what society thinks or expects)Social expectations of masculine and feminine behaviour changed drastically during the 1960s and '70s.career expectations (=someone's expectations about how well they will do in their job)People with low self-esteem usually have low career expectations.verbshave expectations (also hold expectations formal)Many migrant workers had high expectations when they arrived, but not anymore.raise somebody's expectations (=make someone expect more success, money etc)Having raised expectations, the government failed to live up to its promises.lower somebody's expectations (=make someone expect less success, money etc)If you can't afford your dream home, you may have to lower your expectations.come up to/live up to somebody's expectations (=be as good as someone hoped or expected)The match was boring, and didn't live up to our expectations at all.fulfil/satisfy somebody's expectations formal (=be as good as someone hoped or expected)The band failed to fulfil the fans' expectations.exceed/surpass somebody's expectations (=be or do better than you hoped or expected)The holiday exceeded our expectations.fall below/fall short of somebody's expectations (=be worse that someone hoped or expected)Our profits last year fell below expectations.create expectations (=make people expect that something will happen)The events of the last few weeks have created expectations of an economic recession.confound somebody's expectations (=be different to what someone expected, in a way that surprises or confuses them)The play totally confounds the audience's expectations.phrasesabove expectations (=higher, better, or more successful than expected)Economic growth last month was above expectations.below expectations (=lower, worse, or less successful than expected)Retail sales in December were well below expectations.beyond all expectations (=greater or better than someone expected)The task took two months to complete, but it was successful far beyond all expectations.against/contrary to expectations (=very different to what someone expected)Contrary to our expectations, the share price actually increased. Examples from the Corpus
expectation• Maker and wearer share a breathtaking expectation.• He had had no expectation of doing more than exasperate, and supply a distraction.• Maybe 5-6 was a reasonable expectation.• But what of the expectation of life of some one who has reached the age of forty?• This would indicate that the expectation of impotence in old age can play an important role in actually bringing it about.• At least that was the expectation as 8,000 people gathered in a vast, beautiful hall in London last month.expectation that• There's always an expectation that some one who runs a nightclub lives in a nightclub.• I have every expectation that this chocolate team will melt in the glare of a warm Elland Road reception.• Second, our expectation that all elderly are ill is clearly misplaced.• He drew some comfort from the expectation that revision would be necessary inside a year or two.• How do you break free from the expectation that your stories will be heavily dosed with magic realism?• The law is framed widely, in the expectation that it will be enforced selectively.• It was useful to know of the expectation that Business and Communication check local papers regarding any adverts relating to the Centre.• These figures are based on the expectation that the economy will continue to improve.• There, the first step was to abolish the agency, with the expectation that competitive markets would then develop. 