expectationnoun
uk/ˌek.spekˈteɪ.ʃən/us/ˌek.spekˈteɪ.ʃən/B2 [ C usually plural ] the feeling that good things are going to happen in the future:
The holiday lived up to all our expectations (= was as good as we were expecting).
I have high expectations for this job (= I believe it will be good).
We did so well - beyond all (= better than) our expectations.
I think she had unrealistic expectations of motherhood.
[ C or U ] the feeling of expecting something to happen:
Considering the injuries he's had there can be little expectation of him winning the race.
Our expectations are that the UK will cut its interest rate.
against/contrary to all expectations
different from what is expected:
Contrary to all expectations, she was accepted by the academy.
More examples
- Contrary to all our expectations, he's found a well-paid job and a nice girlfriend.
- The success of our campaign has exceeded our wildest expectations.
- The company's results are in line with stock market expectations.
- She could never measure up to her mother's expectations.
- The concert was brilliant - it lived up to all our expectations.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Planning, expecting and arranging
- accidentally
- accidentally on purpose idiom
- advertent
- advisedly
- aim
- aim at sth
- calculate
- chart
- engineer
- in the pipeline idiom
- intend
- intent
- intention
- intentional
- promise
- scheme
- scientific
- see sth coming idiom
- set sth up
- strategic
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Surprising and shocking