impatiens

American  

[im-pey-shuhnz] / ɪmˈpeɪ ʃənz /

noun

1. any of numerous plants belonging to the genus Impatiens, of the balsam family, having irregular flowers in which the calyx and corolla are not clearly distinguishable and bearing fruit that bursts open to scatter the seeds.

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impatiens British  

/ ɪmˈpeɪʃɪˌɛnz /

noun

1. any balsaminaceous plant of the genus Impatiens, such as balsam, touch-me-not, busy Lizzie, and policeman's helmet

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• impatiens
  plural

Etymology

Origin of impatiens

1880–85; < New Latin, Latin impatiēns not enduring, not tolerating ( see impatient); alluding to the plant's quick release of seeds upon slight contact; compare the familiar name touch-me-not

Example Sentences

Impatiens are off the list, too, ever since the scourge of impatiens downy mildew started spreading across the land.

From Washington Post • Apr. 6, 2015

It is a suburban idyll trimmed by red and white Impatiens, finished inside with dark oak paneling and filled with photographs of the children.

From Time Magazine Archive

Bennett, A.W., on Viola tricolor. structure of Impatiens fulva. plants flowering in winter. bees frequenting flowers of same species.

From Effects of Cross and Self Fertilisation in the Vegetable Kingdom by Darwin, Charles

Impatiens balsamīna, native of the East Indies, is a common cultivated species.

From The New Gresham Encyclopedia. Vol. 1 Part 3 Atrebates to Bedlis by Various

Impatiens, &c., in Geraniaceæ, 105 Flowers regular or nearly so.

From The Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States Including the District East of the Mississippi and North of North Carolina and Tennessee by Gray, Asa