expectant

\ɛk.spɛk.tɑ̃\

/\ɛk.spɛk.tɑ̃\/ adj

The verdict

“expectant” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
9
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Qui attend.

Corpus desk

Index FR-expectant · expectant · French

expectant · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "E" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for expectant
PropertyValue
Headwordexpectant
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdjective
IPA\ɛk.spɛk.tɑ̃\
Letters9
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « expectant » en français

expectantreste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

expectant is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed \ɛk.spɛk.tɑ̃\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

No misspelling variants are generated for expectant in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable French patterns. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, leaving phoneme-to-grapheme mapping as the best guide to its spelling rather than a borrowing history. The correct French form is expectant, spelled E-X-P-E-C-T-A-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Qui attend.
  2. 2
    Qualifie la médecine qui laisse faire la nature et qui emploie des moyens peu actifs.
  3. 3
    Qualifie une politique, une attitude, qui se réserve le droit d’attendre avant de prendre une décision.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how expectant appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. La femme navrée aux prunelles expectantes Dont le regard, obstinément revient au port, Ne voit plus, sur les courtes vagues mutinées, La noire goélette roulant bord sur bord Ou se cabrant en virevoltes forcenées, Comme prête à briser la chaine qui la tient Mouillée à l’abri des récifs grondants, mais bien Une âme sombre qui bondit, emprisonnée.
  2. Le pacifisme est passif et expectant par essence : il est plein d’espoir et d’attente, mais sans programme d’action.

Antonyms

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "expectant"?
"expectant" is spelled E-X-P-E-C-T-A-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is \ɛk.spɛk.tɑ̃\.
What does "expectant" mean?
As an adjective, "expectant" means: Qui attend.
How do you pronounce "expectant"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "expectant" is \ɛk.spɛk.tɑ̃\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "expectant" come from?
"expectant" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list