Word family noun expectancy expectation adjective expectant expected ≠ unexpected verb expect adverb expectantly unexpectedly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishexpectancyex‧pec‧tan‧cy /ɪkˈspektənsi/ noun [uncountable] EXPECTthe feeling that something pleasant or exciting is going to happen I saw the look of expectancy in the children’s eyes. → life expectancyExamples from the Corpus
expectancy• The police often collaborate in producing an expectancy effect.• We celebrate Passover with joy and expectancy.• It was the kind of silence that was so complete it had a sort of hum, the noise of expectancy.From Longman Business Dictionaryexpectancyex‧pec‧tan‧cy /ɪkˈspektənsi/ noun [uncountable] HUMAN RESOURCES the amount of effort an employee believes will be necessary to do his or her job. Expectancy is important to managers because, by knowing about it, they know what they have to do to make their employees want to work harderExpectancy theories of motivation are based on the premise that people are motivated by the expected outcomes of their actions. → see also life expectancy 