Word
pregnant
Phoneticspreg·nant
US/ˈpɹɛɡnənt/
UK/pɹˈɛɡnənt/
Definitions
01carrying offspring
adj. having a baby or young animal developing inside the body.
adj. carrying developing offspring within the uterus. Generally treated as a non-gradable adjective in its literal biological sense.
“My sister is six months pregnant with her first child.”
“The study focused on the nutritional requirements of pregnant women during their third trimester to ensure optimal foetal development.”
Pitfall
She is very pregnant.
She is heavily pregnant.
Since pregnancy is a state, we usually use 'heavily' or 'six months' rather than 'very' to describe the stage.
Synonyms
02full of meaning
adj. full of meaning or importance, even if nothing is being said.
adj. rich in significance, implication, or emotional weight; often used to describe a pause or silence.
“There was a pregnant pause before he finally answered the difficult question.”
“The air was thick with a pregnant silence as the jury returned to the courtroom to deliver the final verdict.”
Literary
Synonyms
Antonyms
03full of potential
adj. full of ideas, possibilities, or the chance for something new to happen.
adj. abounding in possibilities, creative power, or latent potential.
“The morning felt pregnant with the possibility of a new beginning.”
“The philosopher described the era as a pregnant moment in history, where every political decision could reshape the continent for centuries.”
Literary · Formal
Synonyms
Antonyms
Real-World Examples
“She was pregnant with her son during her third year of medical school.” “She said the entire community was drawing water from a single borehole, while pregnant women had nowhere safe to deliver their babies and children lacked medicine.” Etymology
From Middle English preignant, from Old French preignant, pregnant, also prenant (compare archaic Modern French prégnant), and their source, Latin praegnāns (“pregnant”), probably from prae- (“pre-”) + *gnāscī, an archaic form of nāscī (“to be born”). Displaced Old English bearnēacen (literally "child-enlarged").
Apparently from Middle French pregnant, preignant (“pressing, compelling”), present participle of prembre (“to press”), from Latin premere (“to press”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Collocations
Word family
Idioms
you can't be half pregnant — Said of an either-or situation; there are only two available choices.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/pregnant