pregnant

adjective preg·nant \ ˈpreg-nənt \

|Updated on: 14 Jul 2018

Examples: pregnant in a Sentence

Definition of pregnant

1 archaic : cogent

2 : abounding in fancy, wit, or resourcefulness : inventive

all this has been said … by great and pregnant artists
—The Times Literary Supplement (London)

3 : rich in significance or implication

the pregnant phrases of the Bible
—Edmund Wilson

a pregnant pause

4 : containing a developing embryo, fetus, or unborn offspring within the body : gravid

5 : having possibilities of development or consequence : involving important issues : momentous

draw inspiration from the heroic achievements of that pregnant age
—Kemp Malone

6 obsolete : inclined, disposed

your own most pregnant and vouchsafed ear
—William Shakespeare

7 : full, teeming

—

pregnantly

adverb

See pregnant defined for English-language learners

See pregnant defined for kids

Examples of pregnant in a Sentence

She got pregnant soon after her marriage.
There was a pregnant pause before the winner was announced.

Recent Examples of pregnant from the Web

All detainees, determined to be pregnant, are provided appropriate education, prenatal care, and postnatal care.

— jewel wicker, Teen Vogue, "Pregnant Women Are Allegedly Being Denied Medical Care in Immigration Detention Centers," 10 July 2018
Some dentists said that patients who should have been covered, such as children and pregnant women, were showing up in the state's system as having no coverage.

— deborah yetter, The Courier-Journal, "Health law advocates ask US officials to reject Bevin's Medicaid cuts," 6 July 2018
Izzy had been suspected to be pregnant for weeks due to recent weight gain.

— katherine j. wu, Smithsonian, "The National Zoo’s Golden Lion Tamarins Delight Curators with the Delivery of Twins," 3 July 2018
All of the women were in good health, and none were pregnant.

— blake bakkila, Health.com, "There's No Such Thing as a 'Normal' Vagina, and That's a Good Thing," 3 July 2018
The company's pictures show the kinds of things that the new system enables: among others, there's a pregnant avatar, a couple of avatars with prostheses, and two that use wheelchairs, all with a wide range of skin tones, poses, and hair styles.

— peter bright, Ars Technica, "Microsoft’s new diverse avatar editor represents more body types, disabilities," 19 June 2018
When Sabastion was pregnant, someone close to him threatened to take the baby away, saying his life at home would be unnatural.

— john nowak/cnn, CNN, "He gave birth. He breastfed. Now, he wants his son to see him as a man," 15 June 2018
The speaker also happens to be pregnant — with a boy.

— david roderick, SFChronicle.com, "State Lines: A poem by Natalie Graham," 14 June 2018
The chart-topping XXXTentacion, the other artist targeted by the new policy, is facing charges in Florida that include aggravated battery of a pregnant woman and witness tampering.

— doug maccash, NOLA.com, "David Byrne returns to New Orleans on Oct. 8: Must see," 14 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pregnant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of pregnant

Middle English, from Latin praegnant-, praegnans carrying a fetus, alteration of praegnas, from prae- pre- + -gnas (akin to gignere to give birth to) — more at kin

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

pregnant Synonyms

Phrases

with child, with young;

PREGNANT Defined for English Language Learners

pregnant

adjective

Definition of pregnant for English Language Learners

of a woman or female animal : having a baby or babies developing inside the body
: filled with meaning or emotion because of what is going to happen or be said