long-awaited

IPA/ˌlɒŋ əˈweɪtɪd/
IPA/ˌlɔːŋ əˈweɪtɪd/

long-awaited — adjective

1. describes something people have hoped to see, get, or experience after many mont

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

describes something people have hoped to see, get, or experience after many months or years of waiting.

Example

The long-awaited rain finally reached the dry farms after six hot months.

attributive: long-awaited + noun

Diego opened the long-awaited letter from the medical school at breakfast.

Common collocations
  • long-awaited decision
  • long-awaited news
  • long-awaited return
  • long-awaited reform
  • long-awaited payment
  • long-awaited release
Synonyms
  • anticipated

    more formal and neutral; it does not stress the long wait as strongly

  • expected

    broader and weaker; it can describe anything people think will happen

  • much-anticipated

    close in meaning, but especially common for films, books, concerts, and other public events

Antonyms
  • unexpected

    arriving or happening without people seeing it coming

  • unwanted

    not hoped for or welcomed, even if it has been expected

Grammar Patterns

long-awaited + noun

be long-awaited

Usage Note

Usually placed before a noun. It often suggests not only delay, but also strong hope or relief when the thing finally arrives.

Common Mistakes

We finally got the long awaited reply.
We finally got the long-awaited reply.
The compound is normally hyphenated before a noun.
Our long-awaited bus was five minutes late again.
Our bus was five minutes late again.
'Long-awaited' is for something people have hoped for over a much longer period, not an ordinary short delay.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

These words all point to something that has not arrived yet, but they focus on different ideas. Expected is the broadest and weakest word: it simply means people think something will happen. Anticipated adds a more formal tone and often suggests active interest. Much-anticipated is very close to long-awaited, but it is especially common in public contexts such as films, games, books, and official events. Overdue shifts the focus away from hope and toward lateness or failure to arrive on time, so it often sounds more negative. Long-awaited is best when people have been hoping for something over a long stretch and feel relief or excitement when it finally comes. You can talk about a long-awaited visit from family, but an overdue bill or overdue train usually stresses delay instead of welcome expectation.

anticipated ↗expected ↗much-anticipatedoverdue ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • long-awaited announcement
  • long-awaited decision
  • long-awaited change
  • long-awaited visit
  • long-awaited payment
  • long-awaited release

Phrases

  • announce the long-awaited plan
  • welcome the long-awaited change
  • the long-awaited moment arrived

Etymology

Old EnglishFrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

A transparent modern English compound built from long and awaited. Long comes from Old English, while await entered English through French in the Middle English period. Together they formed an adjective for something people have spent a long period hoping for or waiting to happen.