patient

[ pey-shuhnt ]
See synonyms for: patientpatientspatientlypatientness on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a person who is under medical care or treatment.

  2. a person or thing that undergoes some action.

  1. Archaic. a sufferer or victim.

adjective
  1. bearing provocation, annoyance, misfortune, delay, hardship, pain, etc., with fortitude and calm and without complaint, anger, or the like.

  2. characterized by or expressing such a quality: a patient smile.

  1. quietly and steadily persevering or diligent, especially in detail or exactness:a patient worker.

  2. undergoing the action of another (opposed to agent).

Idioms about patient

  1. patient of,

    • having or showing the capacity for endurance: a man patient of distractions.

    • susceptible of: This statement is patient of criticism.

Origin of patient

1
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English adjective and noun pacient, from Middle French, from Latin patient-, stem of patiēns, present participle of patī “to undergo, suffer, bear”; see -ent

Other words for patient

Opposites for patient

Other words from patient

  • pa·tient·less, adjective
  • pa·tient·ly, adverb
  • pa·tient·ness, noun
  • o·ver·pa·tient, adjective
  • quasi-patient, adjective
  • qua·si-pa·tient·ly, adverb
  • su·per·pa·tient, adjective
  • su·per·pa·tient·ly, adverb
  • un·pa·tient, adjective
  • un·pa·tient·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use patient in a sentence

  • I haven't much time for seeing any one, except my patients, and the people I meet in society.

    Bella Donna | Robert Hichens
  • When patients are very nervous, it is well to spray the throat with cocain solution.

    A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
  • They decided that his wishes ought to be followed, and that the patients must be entrusted to old nurse.

    The Daisy Chain | Charlotte Yonge
  • I have many patients who came to me originally simply because they dared not face their family doctor.

    Dope | Sax Rohmer
  • She has since been repeatedly employed as a nurse to Small-pox patients, without experiencing any ill consequences.

British Dictionary definitions for patient

patient

/ (ˈpeɪʃənt) /


adjective
  1. enduring trying circumstances with even temper

  2. tolerant; understanding

  1. capable of accepting delay with equanimity

  2. persevering or diligent: a patient worker

  3. archaic admitting of a certain interpretation

noun
  1. a person who is receiving medical care

  2. rare a person or thing that is the recipient of some action

Origin of patient

1
C14: see patience

Derived forms of patient

  • patiently, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012