Expectation

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˌɛk.spɛkˈteɪ.ʃən/

Definitions

1. A belief or strong hope that something will happen or be the case in the future
2. A belief regarding what may occur in the future or a strong anticipation of forthcoming events based on previous experiences or desires
3. The mental anticipation or belief that a certain event will take place in the future based on desires or information ; the specific event or result that is awaited or looked forward to with confidence

Etymology: Latin "exspectare" combined "ex-", "out" or "fully," with "spectare," "to look at," so the original sense was to look out for something, watching intently for its arrival. That visual sense of watchful waiting survives in the English word, which is why an expectation is something you hold onto while you look ahead. English borrowed the word through Middle French, which had its own form "expectation" drawn directly from the Latin noun "exspectatio." Before it arrived, English speakers relied on the native Old English word "wēn," a close relative of "ween," which meant a hope or supposition. The Latin-derived term pushed that older word out of everyday use, and "wēn" survives today only in archaic or dialect contexts. The word is formed from "expect" plus the suffix "-ation," which turns a verb into a noun of action or state, so an expectation is literally the act or condition of expecting. Its ordinary sense of a belief about what will happen grew naturally from that original idea of looking out for something to come.

Synonyms: anticipation, hope, prediction, assumption, belief

Antonyms: doubt, uncertainty, disappointment, surprise, suspicion