as in pregnant
containing unborn young within the body
the special nutritional needs of expecting women
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in anticipating
to believe in the future occurrence of (something)
we expect their arrival late this afternoon
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of expecting
Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 24 Nov. 2025
Doug Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 12 Apr. 2026
But Justin Watson is expecting big savings from his Chinese car.
—Seth Doane, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2026
Along with the four transfers, TCU is expecting to retain centers Clara Silva and Sarah Portlock and freshman wing Clara Bielefeld.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Apr. 2026
The New York City metropolitan area was expecting mild temperatures in the 60s on Saturday, April 11, but city emergency management officials warned of elevated risk of wildfires.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2026
The Sharks were expecting their 22nd sellout crowd of the season for Saturday’s Fan Appreciation game.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2026
After returning home, Angela compiled clips from the trip into a video and posted it online, not expecting much.
—Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 10 Apr. 2026
The safety-concerned among them were told that this would be an opportunity to think through how society might prepare for the disruptive arrival of artificial general intelligence; the investors arrived expecting to hear pitches.
—Ronan Farrow, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
Trump’s handling of his war on Iran—attacking without consultation, expecting unwavering support, forcing higher prices on others—has dealt another blow to these relationships.
—Idrees Kahloon, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2026
Adjective
This news marks the first time the National Zoo has had an expecting Asian elephant in nearly 25 years.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 24 Nov. 2025
Verb
Even so, this was not the day anyone was expecting of McIlroy.
—Doug Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 12 Apr. 2026
But Justin Watson is expecting big savings from his Chinese car.
—Seth Doane, CBS News, 12 Apr. 2026
Along with the four transfers, TCU is expecting to retain centers Clara Silva and Sarah Portlock and freshman wing Clara Bielefeld.
—Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Apr. 2026
The New York City metropolitan area was expecting mild temperatures in the 60s on Saturday, April 11, but city emergency management officials warned of elevated risk of wildfires.
—Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today, 11 Apr. 2026
The Sharks were expecting their 22nd sellout crowd of the season for Saturday’s Fan Appreciation game.
—Curtis Pashelka, Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2026
After returning home, Angela compiled clips from the trip into a video and posted it online, not expecting much.
—Jordan Greene, PEOPLE, 10 Apr. 2026
The safety-concerned among them were told that this would be an opportunity to think through how society might prepare for the disruptive arrival of artificial general intelligence; the investors arrived expecting to hear pitches.
—Ronan Farrow, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2026
Trump’s handling of his war on Iran—attacking without consultation, expecting unwavering support, forcing higher prices on others—has dealt another blow to these relationships.
—Idrees Kahloon, The Atlantic, 5 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expecting
Adjective
-
At least one of the passengers was pregnant.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
-
The culprits, in his view, are the endocrine disruptors embedded in plastics, cosmetics, and above all pesticides, which a pregnant mother absorbs at levels that can affect not just her child but potentially her grandchildren.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
12 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Return on Tangible Common Equity (ROTCE) increased nicely, managing to edge out expectations as the bank closed out the quarter with a higher level of loans and deposits than the Street was anticipating.—
Zev Fima,
CNBC,
14 Apr. 2026
-
The letter came a day before California’s air regulators were set to release draft updates to the Cap-and-Invest program, with stakeholders anticipating additional changes to the initial January updates.—
Chaewon Chung
April 13,
Sacbee.com,
14 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Room by room, the author takes us through the house, now long gone.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Retaining Hall, 39, keeps one familiar face from Dart’s rookie year on the offensive side of the building for his second NFL season, with Brian Daboll, Mike Kafka and Shea Tierney all long gone.—
Pat Leonard,
New York Daily News,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Freeman is also awaiting sentencing for the 2022 murder of Gabriele Seitz in Roseville.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
-
No particular couch sticks in my memory, so perhaps these were neutral couches awaiting my emotions to spill out over them.—
Wendy C. Ortiz,
Los Angeles Times,
16 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Expecting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expecting. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
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