expected

expected — adjective

1. Something that people think will take place, turn up, or be the case — like a bu

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

Something that people think will take place, turn up, or be the case — like a bus showing up on time or an athlete reaching the championship round.

Example

The expected rain finally arrived, so the farmers in Yan's village stopped worrying.

expected + noun (expected rain) attributive use

Rohan's expected promotion was announced at the Monday meeting.

Common collocations
  • expected arrival
  • expected outcome
  • expected result
  • expected time
  • expected date
  • expected cost
Synonyms
  • anticipated

    Adds a feeling of eager preparation or excitement — 'anticipated' is more personal than neutral 'expected'.

  • predicted

    Sounds more technical or data-driven, as from a forecast or model.

  • foreseen

    Suggests someone had specific prior knowledge of what would happen.

Antonyms
  • unexpected

    The direct opposite — something that surprises because people did not think it would happen.

  • surprising

    Describes the emotional reaction when something happens that was not expected.

Grammar Patterns

expected + noun (attributive)

be + expected (predicative)

expected + to-infinitive clause

Usage Note

This is the most frequent sense of 'expected'. It works in both attributive ('the expected result') and predicative ('the result is expected') positions. The adjective is commonly followed by an infinitive clause: 'The train is expected to arrive at 6 p.m.'

Common Mistakes

The expected rain arrived as predicting.
The expected rain arrived as predicted.
'Expected' itself is an adjective; use 'as predicted' or 'as expected' for the adverbial comparison.
It was very expected that she would win.
It was widely expected that she would win.
Use 'widely', 'fully', or 'generally' with 'expected', not 'very'.

2. Relating to a baby that has not yet been born but whose arrival is known about —

2.adjectiveB1
Definition

Relating to a baby that has not yet been born but whose arrival is known about — for example when parents have announced a pregnancy and people refer to the expected child.

Example

Sofia took a prenatal class to prepare for her expected baby.

expected + baby (attributive, only before nouns)

The midwife checked the position of the expected baby using an ultrasound.

Common collocations
  • expected baby
  • expected child
  • expected grandchild
  • expected due date
Synonyms
  • anticipated

    In a pregnancy context, 'anticipated' sounds warmer and more emotional than 'expected'.

Grammar Patterns

expected + baby / child / grandchild

Usage Note

This sense is restricted to attributive position — it must appear directly before the noun (expected baby, expected child). It only describes human babies, not animals or objects. The related verb phrase 'be expecting (a baby)' is more common in everyday speech; 'expected baby' sounds slightly more formal or medical.

Common Mistakes

She has an expected cat at home.
She has a cat that is expecting kittens.
'Expected' in this sense only describes human babies, not animal offspring.

3. Considered necessary, proper, or socially called for in a given situation — like

3.adjectiveB1
Definition

Considered necessary, proper, or socially called for in a given situation — like the level of politeness people think a child should show or the standard of quality a customer has a right to receive.

Example

Polite table manners are the expected behaviour at Emre's family dinners.

expected + behaviour / standard (attributive sense, social norm)

The intern's final report did not meet the expected quality level.

Common collocations
  • expected behaviour
  • expected standard
  • expected level
  • expected quality
  • expected norm
  • expected of someone
Synonyms
  • required

    Stronger — implies a rule or obligation rather than a social norm.

  • proper

    Focuses on correctness and appropriateness of behaviour.

  • standard

    Used as an adjective to describe a normal, accepted level.

Antonyms
  • inappropriate

    Behaviour that does not fit what is socially called for.

Grammar Patterns

expected + noun (attributive)

be + expected (predicative)

expected + of + noun (it is expected of someone)

Usage Note

This sense overlaps with sense 1 when the predicted outcome is also a social requirement. The distinction is testable: if you could replace 'expected' with 'required' or 'proper' without changing the meaning, this is sense 3. If the focus is simply on likelihood, it is sense 1.

Common Mistakes

The expected pay for this job is £15 an hour.' (ambiguous)
The expected pay for this job is £15 an hour.
This sentence can mean sense 1 (predicted pay) or sense 3 (required/promised pay). Add context to clarify which you mean.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Expected, anticipated, predicted, and usual all relate to outcomes people think will happen, but they differ in nuance. Expected is the broadest word — it covers anything people think will occur, whether from routine, logic, or social convention (the expected rain in April). Anticipated adds an emotional layer of eagerness or active preparation: a highly anticipated film has fans counting down the days until its release. Predicted sounds more analytical and evidence-based — a predicted hurricane path comes from a meteorological model, not just a gut feeling. Usual refers to what normally happens based on past patterns, without implying anyone actively thought about it beforehand (the usual morning traffic). In everyday speech, 'expected' fits most situations; choose 'anticipated' to add emotional colour, 'predicted' for data-backed forecasts, and 'usual' for repetition rather than foresight.

expected ↗anticipatedpredictedusual ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • widely expected
  • fully expected
  • commonly expected
  • generally expected
  • reasonably expected

Phrases

  • as expected
  • more than expected
  • less than expected
  • better than expected
  • worse than expected

Prepositions

  • expected of
  • expected from

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Comes from Latin ex- (meaning 'out') + spectare (meaning 'to look at, watch'), so the original idea was of looking outward for something — waiting and watching to see it appear. The word travelled through Old French (expecter) into Middle English. Over time, the sense broadened from the physical act of watching for something to the mental act of believing something will happen, and later to the social meaning of believing something should happen.