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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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
While companies have cashed out their refunds—Nike is said to have received about $300 million, and is expecting to see $1 billion by the end of the year, while Amazon got $600 million in paybacks—consumers aren’t seeing the returns. — Kate Nishimura, Footwear News, 6 Aug. 2026 Barcelona is approaching the complex transfer cautiously, expecting Rodri to demonstrate a strong desire to move. — Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026 With political experts expecting the Democrats to win a House majority in the 120th Congress, the window for the PCSA to become law is shrinking. — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 6 Aug. 2026 Nintendo is expecting strong game software sales at 60 million units for the fiscal year, up 23%. — ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026 In addition to beating estimates for total revenue, SpaceX posted a narrower loss for its AI business than analysts were expecting. — Bloomberg, Mercury News, 5 Aug. 2026 FactSet was expecting that metric to come in at 75 cents per share. — Annie Palmer, CNBC, 5 Aug. 2026 In fact, Joe and Chloe were expecting twins at the time of the season 14 finale. — Breanne L. Heldman, PEOPLE, 29 July 2026 Five-hundred and fifty-seven percent profit was not enough for traders, who were expecting more! — Jim Edwards, Fortune, 29 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expecting
  1. pregnant
  2. anticipating
  3. gone
  4. awaiting
Adjective
  • The intramuscular formulation of penicillin was the only treatment that could prevent pregnant patients from passing syphilis to their newborns.
    — Eric Boodman, STAT, 31 July 2026
  • Active adults, pregnant people, older adults, and those recovering from illness, injury, or surgery may have higher needs.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 31 July 2026
Definition of pregnant
Verb
  • Late Saturday night, the trade the baseball world was anticipating (or dreading) finally came to fruition as the Detroit Tigers traded two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal to the Los Angeles Dodgers for three prospects.
    — Eric Samulski, NBC news, 5 Aug. 2026
  • City have been anticipating this will be a busy summer for them and that could yet be the case, but so far there has been little to go at since the signing of Elliot Anderson.
    — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 5 Aug. 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
  • Georgia Tech fans eagerly awaiting the start of college football season should head to the annual First Saturday on the Flats for games, autographs and more.
    — Mary Caldwell, AJC.com, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Ross’ death is currently not being considered a murder, according to the outlet, and police are awaiting the toxicology test to determine if foul play was involved.
    — Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 3 Aug. 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 8 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on expecting

Nglish: Translation of expecting for Spanish Speakers

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