Expect, hope, look, await are comparable when they mean to have something in mind as more or less certain to happen or come about. They vary, however, so greatly in their implications and in their constructions that they are seldom interchangeable.
Expect usually implies a high degree of certainty, but it also involves the idea of anticipation (as by making preparations or by envisioning what will happen, what one will find, or what emotions one will feel).
Hope (often with for ) implies some degree of belief in the idea that one may expect what one desires or longs for; although it seldom implies certitude, it usually connotes confidence and often especially in religious use implies profound assurance.
Look (usually followed by to with an infinitive and sometimes also by to with a personal object) is less literary than expect; it often also suggests more strongly than expect a counting upon or a freedom from doubt.
With for, on the other hand, look does not imply as much assurance; it suggests rather an attitude of expectancy and watchfulness.
Await often adds to look for the implication of being ready mentally or, sometimes, physically for the event; it also suggests waiting, often patient waiting.
Await also differs from the other words in this group in its capacity for taking as subject the thing expected and as object the person who is expecting.