expect
Usage
What are other ways to say expect?
The verb expect implies confidently believing, usually for good reasons, that an event will occur: to expect a visit from a friend. To anticipate is to look forward to an event and even to picture it: Do you anticipate trouble? Hope implies a wish that an event may take place and an expectation that it will: to hope for the best. Await (wait for) implies being alert and ready, whether for good or evil: to await news after a cyclone.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"But I cannot go to your own village and contest for office there and expect to win," said 32-year-old Methuselah Jeji.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026
“If this rule moves forward, I don’t expect rank-and-file participants to suddenly start day-trading private equity,” he says.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
Some forecasts are slightly more optimistic: Economists at the Penn Wharton Budget Model said they expect growth to average 2.1% over the decade.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
Yet in a post on X, Sam Altman wrote: “I don’t expect them to go any easier on us, am sure I’ll do my part to help enable that with occasional stupid decisions.”
From MarketWatch • Apr. 3, 2026
I knew better than to expect anything as grand as my old library with its brick exterior, white columns, and stone statues posing out front.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
From Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
