Expectancy Meaning
/ɪkˈspɛkt(ə)nsi/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounExpectation or anticipation; the state of expecting something.
nounThe state of being expected.
Sentence Examples
Suicide is a leading cause of death in the country with the longest life expectancy.
Are increases in life expectancy accompanied by a concurrent postponement of disability and functional limitations?
What is the life expectancy for someone with HIV?
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The crowd's nervous ____ grew as the final scores were announced.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Average life ____ has increased significantly in many countries due to better medical care.
Word Origin & History
From expectant + -cy or expect + -ancy.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[T]he Dukes dissembled their feares, and dissolued their forces, and remained in expectancie what would ensue."
— 1599, John Hayward, The First Part of the Life and Raigne of King Henrie IIII. Extending to the end of the first yeare of his raigne, London: John Woolfe, page 39:
"If you foresee not this misery, and the fatall consequence which necessarily must follow such a turn of Fortune, I must leave you to your own will and expectancy […]"
— 1651, John Milton, The Life and Reigne of King Charls, London: W. Reybold, page 110:
"[T]his is generally thought to repreſent the Vices of Nero, vvho […] did from the higheſt Expectancy become a ſtubborn and a fooliſh Tyrant."
— 1735, Titus Petronius Arbiter, “The Feast of Trimalchio, Imitaded. From Titus Petronius Arbiter. Convivium Sybariticum. Præludium.”, in Alexander Pope, translated by [anonymous], Mr Pope’s Literary Correspondence, volume II, London: […] E[dmund] Curll, […], →OCLC, pages 42–43:
"Renewed hope followed renewed effort; it shone like the former for some weeks, then, like it, it faded, flickered: not a line, not a word reached me. When half a year wasted in vain expectancy, my hope died out; and then I felt dark indeed."
— 1847 October 16, Currer Bell [pseudonym; Charlotte Brontë], chapter VIII, in Jane Eyre. An Autobiography. […], volume III, London: Smith, Elder, and Co., […], →OCLC, pages 201–202:
"Six minutes later Clovis approached the supper-table, in the blessed expectancy of one who has dined sketchily and long ago."
— 1912, Saki, “The Match-Maker”, in The Chronicles of Clovis, London: John Lane, page 23:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The crowd's nervous ____ grew as the final scores were announced.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Average life ____ has increased significantly in many countries due to better medical care.