Word family noun expectancy expectation adjective expectant expected ≠ unexpected verb expect adverb expectantly unexpectedly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishexpectantex‧pec‧tant /ɪkˈspektənt/ adjective [usually before noun] 1 WAIThopeful that something good or exciting will happen, or showing this a row of expectant faces2 → expectant mother/father —expectantly adverb He looked expectantly at Sarah, but she didn’t speak.Examples from the Corpus
expectant• The darkened assembly room became suddenly hushed and expectant as the picture appeared on the screen.• The darkened assembly room became suddenly hushed and expectant as the picture on the screen changed.• Expectant crowds waited outside the theatre.• Mike raised a resigned hand in farewell, and turned towards an expectant cyclo boy.• The children were looking at the gifts with expectant expressions.• Bright expectant faces were turned upward toward the stage.• I felt their arms on my shoulders and their ripe, expectant, human faces very close to mine.• There is an expectant market, eager for the new products and western brands.• There are expectant miaows when tin-opener noises are detected and irritated miaows when some fixed routine has been disregarded.• She helps adults, including expectant parents, find ways to repair the traumas they may have suffered as children. 