expecting 1 of 2

adjective

as in pregnant
containing unborn young within the body the special nutritional needs of expecting women

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

expecting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of expect
as in anticipating
to believe in the future occurrence of (something) we expect their arrival late this afternoon

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of expecting
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
Fortunately, the weather service is expecting this heat event to be less humid than those this summer, Schoenfeld said. — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026 Economists were expecting the prior reading to hold, according to FactSet consensus estimates. — Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 30 Sep. 2026 But don’t pull up expecting shots just yet — Remedy will be starting with coffee first, then popping champagne into the New Year. — Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026 Speaking to Interview Magazine in December 2025, Paul revealed that his wife was expecting their first baby. — Giovana Gelhoren, InStyle, 25 Sep. 2026 Blue Back Square is expecting over 1,000 attendees today, according to a statement. — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 24 Sep. 2026 Regardless of the stats, Van Hoy says TCU is expecting the Knights to use a similar game plan as Arkansas State did. — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 Sep. 2026 In response, retailers are adjusting their marketing approaches to target the value-conscious early holiday shopper as opposed to expecting to capture the consumer during a few peak shopping days throughout the holiday season. — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 23 Sep. 2026 The Wanted‘s Nathan Sykes and his wife, Charlotte, are officially expecting their first baby. — Alicia Urrea, Billboard, 23 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expecting
  1. pregnant
  2. anticipating
  3. gone
  4. awaiting
Adjective
  • Ryan was more than eight months pregnant at the time, and Linton is also charged with killing her fetus.
    — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Less than a year after her son’s birth, Dowling tried to get pregnant again, opting for the same add-ons as before—with no luck.
    — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of pregnant
Verb
  • Contrived or not, the models appeared to be reasoning about their own situations— forming plans, weighing consequences, anticipating countermoves.
    — Kevin Roose, Vanity Fair, 7 Oct. 2026
  • And in a region already suffering from aid shortages, and anticipating even greater food insecurity from this year’s El Nino, humanitarians are rightly nervous about a potential catastrophic fallout.
    — Cameron Hudson, semafor.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of anticipating
Adjective
  • Suddenly, photos, videos, or important documents are just… gone.
    — StackCommerce Team, PC Magazine, 15 May 2026
  • Room by room, the author takes us through the house, now long gone.
    — Mary Ann Grossmann, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2026
Definition of gone
Verb
  • While Brian rode off to war, Ellen reluctantly returned to Leoch, fully aware of the wrath awaiting her from Colum in particular.
    — Max Gao, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026
  • His family is awaiting details about his cause of death from State Department officials.
    — Deborah Day, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of awaiting

Browse Nearby Words

expectedly
expecting
expectorate
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Cite this Entry

“Expecting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expecting. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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