Expectancies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A set of anticipations regarding future events or outcomes that can shape behavior and planning
2. Various hopes or beliefs about what will happen in a particular situation, often influencing decisions and actions
3. Different predictions or assumptions made about future experiences or results, which can affect individual and group expectations

Etymology: "Expectancies" is simply the plural of "expectancy," so its story is really the story of the singular. "Expectancy" was formed in English by adding a suffix to an existing word: it comes from "expect," which traces back through Latin "expectare," meaning to look out for or await, and the suffix "-ancy," which turns a verb into a noun for a state or condition. A close relative, "expectant," follows the same pattern through its participle form. The suffix is the more interesting part. Its "-ancy" ending came into English through Old French from Latin "-antia," which marks a quality or state, as in "constancy" or "vacancy." Because "-cy" and "-ancy" are both productive endings, English could also form "expectancy" from "expectant" plus "-cy." Either route ends in the same noun, a word for the condition of looking forward to something. Plural "expectancies" therefore names several such states of anticipation at once, each one a particular forward-looking belief about what a situation will bring.

Synonyms: anticipations, expectations, hopes, predictions, forecasts

Antonyms: disappointments, reality, surprises, doubts, unanticipated