Expectatives

Expectatives is the plural form of expectative, a noun that denotes an act or state of expecting—an anticipation of a future event or outcome. In everyday use, expectatives are largely synonymous with expectations, but the latter is by far the more common term in contemporary writing. The plural form appears mainly in formal, historical, or scholarly contexts and is often encountered in dictionary entries that distinguish nuanced senses or historical usage.

Etymology and sense

Expectative comes from Latin exspectatio and exspectare, meaning to look out for, await, or anticipate. The general sense of expectatives concerns what a person or group believes will occur, which can shape planning, decision making, motivation, and evaluation.

Linguistic and philosophical usage

In some linguistic traditions, expectative (or expectatives) has been used to describe a proposed grammatical mood or category that marks speaker expectation about a proposition. This usage is rare and primarily found in descriptive or historical grammars; it is not a standard feature of modern grammar in most languages. When encountered, the term often signals scholarly discussion of anticipation rather than everyday meaning.

Usage notes

For most writers, “expectations,” “prospects,” or “outlook” are preferred for the common sense of anticipating future events. “Expectative” may appear in academic discussions about historical language forms, rhetorical analysis of anticipation, or as a precise label in specialized contexts.

See also: Expectation; Anticipation; Prospect; Prognosis; Expectancy; Linguistic mood.