patience

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noun pa·tience \ˈpā-shən(t)s\

Definition of PATIENCE

1

:  the capacity, habit, or fact of being patient(see ¹patient)

2

chiefly British :  solitaire 2

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Examples of PATIENCE

1. I don't have the patience to wait in line for hours just to buy a ticket.
2. Investors need to have patience. The economy will improve soon.
3. She treated her students with great patience and humor.
4. I don't have the patience to do crossword puzzles.
5. To be a biographer is a somewhat peculiar endeavor. It seems to me it requires not only the tact, patience, and thoroughness of a scholar but also the stamina of a horse. —Nancy Milford, Vanity Fair, August 2001
6. … in this time of bioethical conundrums, it is good to know that patience, good will, and personal morality will untie far more intellectual knots than the disarray of rancor, conflict, and special interests … —Sherwin B. Nuland, New Republic, 13 Dec. 1999
7. Mind-numbing delays and irrelevant search results are enough to try the patience of the most saintly Web surfers. —Neil Gross et al., Business Week, 14 June 1999
8. After a while, their ideological certitudes tried the patience of their own peoples … —Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., New Yorker, 16 Nov. 1992

Origin of PATIENCE

(see ¹patient)

First Known Use: 13th century

Related to PATIENCE

Synonyms

forbearance, long-suffering, sufferance, tolerance

Antonyms

impatience

Related Words

acquiescence, resignation; passiveness, passivity; amenability, compliance, conformism, docility, obedience, subordination, tractability, willingness; discipline, self-control; submission, submissiveness

Near Antonyms

defiance; contrariness, disobedience, insubordination, intractability, recalcitrance, resistance, willfulness