expectancy C2+ Topic:Law & Government US /ɪkˈspɛktənsi/ UK /ɪkˈspɛktənsi/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun the state of anticipating or expecting something to happen The crowd waited in hushed expectancy for the conductor to raise his baton. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · the state of anticipating... anticipationexpectationhopesuspenseprospectlikelihood ↔ Opposites resignationdespair Word family Related forms expectexpectantexpectation Etymology AI details From expect + -ancy, from Latin exspectare ('to look out for, await'), from ex- ('out') + spectare ('to look at'), frequentative of specere ('to look'). exspectare Latin specere Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Law & Government Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # expectancy **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ɪkˈspɛktənsi/ **IPA (UK):** /ɪkˈspɛktənsi/ ## Meanings 1. the state of anticipating or expecting something to happen ## Examples - The crowd waited in hushed expectancy for the conductor to raise his baton. ## Synonyms - anticipation - expectation - hope - suspense - prospect - likelihood ## Antonyms - resignation - despair ## Related Forms - expect - expectant - expectation ## Roots and Affixes - Root: exspectare - Root: specere ## Etymology From expect + -ancy, from Latin exspectare ('to look out for, await'), from ex- ('out') + spectare ('to look at'), frequentative of specere ('to look'). ## AI Etymology Expectancy is from expect + -ancy, from Latin exspectare ('to look out for, await'), from ex- ('out') + spectare ('to look at'), frequentative of specere ('to look'). Important recorded forms include exspectare (Latin) and specere (Latin). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers the state of anticipating or expecting something to happen. The wider family includes related words such as expect, expectant, and expectation. ## Topics - Law & Government - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown