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expectancy

expectancy

64 5.1
A feeling of waiting and hoping for something to happen
  • noun
  • /ɪkˈspɛktənsi/
translation icon : expectativa
  • There is a growing expectancy among students for the school year to start on a positive note.
  • expectancy of success
  • outcome expectancy
  • expectancy effects

No, that was a really, really long way of saying expectancy is the breeding ground for miracles.

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Examples

  • Her expectancy for a job offer increased after the successful interview.

  • Many people have high expectancy that the new technology will improve their lives.

  • There was less of an expectancy on human life back then, for one thing.

  • Throughout this whole period, a life expectancy was very poor.

  • And my life expectancy would be a lot lower.

  • So their average life expectancy has gone down by a year, a year.

  • And an average life expectancy will move up.

  • I came here when I was 14 with a life expectancy of 13.

  • Speaker, life expectancy is actually beginning to fall.

  • And that is we have parts of this country where life expectancy is actually in decline.

Synonyms

expectation
vsexpectancy
633 2.8

A belief that something will happen in the future

is more about an internal feeling state rather than a belief about likelihood
anticipation
vsexpectancy
145 3.4

A feeling of eager waiting for something that will happen

is the broader state of waiting for something rather than just eager forward-looking feeling
air of expectation
vsexpectancy
4.8

A quiet, excited feeling in a place where people wait for something

is the internal feeling state of a person rather than a public atmosphere

Antonyms

1.0

A sudden feeling of wonder when something is unexpected

Compounds

life expectancy
  • Specialized
52 3.0

Average number of years people are expected to live

How Anticipatory

eagerness
23 2.5
expectancy
64 5.1
curiosity
318 2.2
interest
1.0
indifference
71 4.6

Surface Forms

expectancy singular
expectancies plural

Morphology

expectancy = expectant (transparent) = expect + ant + cy

The noun is formed by adding the noun-forming suffix '-cy' to the adjective 'expectant', which is transparently derived from the verb 'expect'.

Etymology

Expectancy comes from the Latin parts ex- ('out') and spectare ('to look'), the same root as inspect. So expectancy is like 'looking out' for something, the feeling of waiting for something to happen.