impatient

[im-pey-shuhnt]

adjective

1. not patient; not accepting delay, opposition, pain, etc., with calm or patience.

   Synonyms: abrupt, brusque, curt, hot, violent, fretful, testy, irritable, unquiet, uneasy
   Antonyms: calm

2. indicating lack of patience.

   an impatient answer.

   Synonyms: abrupt, brusque, curt, hot, violent, fretful, testy, irritable

3. restless in desire or expectation; eagerly desirous.

   Synonyms: hasty, sudden, precipitate, impetuous

impatient

/ ɪmˈpeɪʃənt /

adjective

1. lacking patience; easily irritated at delay, opposition, etc

2. exhibiting lack of patience

   an impatient retort

3. intolerant (of) or indignant (at)

   impatient of indecision

4. restlessly eager (for something or to do something)

Other Word Forms

• impatiently adverb
• impatientness noun
• unimpatient adjective
• unimpatiently adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of impatient¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English impacient, from Latin impatient-, stem of impatiēns “not enduring, not tolerating”; equivalent to im- ² + patient

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. impatient of, intolerant of.

   impatient of any interruptions.

Example Sentences

“You know that the president is impatient, so he wants the results quickly,” Bourla said.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Customers complained about long wait times and high prices, and crowds of impatient customers picking up mobile orders sullied the experience for those who still wanted to linger.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

Syn was very impatient and ramped up the pressure on me to reply.

Read more on BBC

And Ms Sintya's journey to her job in a wellness resort is lined with villas and cafes, and impatient honks follow her all the way.

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I get impatient if a problem isn’t resolved in a day.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• anxious 
• eager 
• irritable 
• keen 
• restless 
• testy 
• thirsty 

When To Use

What does impatient mean?

Impatient means not accepting delays or obstacles with restraint and self-control, as in Fans were so impatient for the next book in the series that they overwhelmed the author with messages on Twitter.Someone who is impatient is generally not happy with having to wait. You might be impatient for your vacation to come, thinking about your vacation all the time and becoming irritable because it’s not vacation time yet. A driver might be impatient about being stuck in traffic, blowing their horn repeatedly to show their impatience.Impatient can be used figuratively to describe events that happen quickly. For example, an impatient winter might describe a time in the autumn when the temperature drops quickly, implying that the winter season was too impatient to wait until its proper time to come.Impatient is sometimes used in the idiom impatient of, meaning intolerant of. For example, someone who is generally kind and patient may be impatient of lying. If they’re lied to, they may become irritable and argumentative with the person telling the lie. Impatient of is normally used in situations in which someone is drawing contrast to their tolerance of other things by highlighting their impatience of something.Example: I’ve had so much work lately, but my boss is still impatient about my handing in work on time.