Definition of expectancy
expectancies
1a : the act, action, or state of expecting the strange expectancy that getting on any train gives us — John Updikeb : the state of being expected occurs with an expectancy slightly greater than usual
2a : something expected their belief led to an expectancyb : the expected amount (as of the number of years of life) based on statistical probability life expectancy
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Examples of expectancy in a Sentence
that feeling of optimistic expectancy that fills theatergoers as they wait for the curtain to rise
Recent Examples of expectancy from the Web
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Changes in institutions, including workplaces, are needed to account for longer life expectancy, according to the film’s producer Herbes-Sommers.
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Life expectancy is about three years longer for both genders in Australia, and the country has more than twice as many hospital beds per 1,000 people than America.
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Poverty and unemployment rates remain seismic, alcoholism is rampant and the life expectancy here is the shortest in the country, according to a recent study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
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Life expectancy has risen on average by about a year every five years since the middle of the last century, and half of babies born in the U.S. and Canada in 2007 may live to 104, according to the report.
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In fact, there was a booming and flourishing populace, one that was better-fed, taller, healthier, more disease-free, with far less infant mortality and longer life expectancy than ever before in human history.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'expectancy'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
1600
First Known Use of expectancy
1600
EXPECTANCY Defined for English Language Learners
expectancy
playDefinition of expectancy for English Language Learners
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: a feeling that something is going to happen : the feeling that you have when you are expecting something
Medical Dictionary
expectancy
playMedical Definition of expectancy
expectancies
: the expected amount (as of the number of years of life) based on statistical probability—see life expectancy
Law Dictionary
expectancy
Legal Definition of expectancy
expectancies
: something expected: as a : an interest held by a person who may receive something (as a bequest) in the future but has no enforceable right to it b : the benefit that will be received from a contract if performed
Learn More about expectancy
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for expectancy Spanish Central: Translation of expectancy Nglish: Translation of expectancy for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of expectancy for Arabic speakers
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