patient

[pey-shuhnt]

noun

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

   Synonyms: invalid

2. a person or thing that undergoes some action.

3. 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.

   Synonyms: calm, passive, resigned, long-suffering, uncomplaining
   Antonyms: hostile

2. characterized by or expressing such a quality.

   a patient smile.

   Synonyms: composed, self-possessed, unexcited, unruffled, serene, quiet
   Antonyms: agitated, impatient

3. quietly and steadily persevering or diligent, especially in detail or exactness.

   a patient worker.

   Synonyms: assiduous, sedulous

4. undergoing the action of another (agent ).

patient

/ ˈpeɪʃənt /

adjective

1. enduring trying circumstances with even temper

2. tolerant; understanding

3. capable of accepting delay with equanimity

4. persevering or diligent

   a patient worker

5. 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

Other Word Forms

• patientless adjective
• patiently adverb
• patientness noun
• overpatient adjective
• quasi-patient adjective
• quasi-patiently adverb
• superpatient adjective
• superpatiently adverb
• unpatient adjective
• unpatiently adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of patient¹

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”; -ent

Word History and Origins

Origin of patient¹

C14: see _patience

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. patient of,

   1. having or showing the capacity for endurance.

      a man patient of distractions.

   2. susceptible of.

      This statement is patient of criticism.

Example Sentences

New technology like mail-order services and kiosks try “to put medicine on an assembly line, and patients don’t fit on assembly lines,” said Hoey, a licensed pharmacist in Oklahoma, Virginia and Texas.

Read more on MarketWatch

Getting a prescription filled in minutes before you even leave the doctor’s office could be a time saver, but community pharmacists urge patients to consider the kiosks’ limitations.

Read more on MarketWatch

The findings, published online on Sept. 26, 2025, in Advanced Science, describe a fully human, miniaturized liver system developed from stem cells and a patient's own immune cells.

Read more on Science Daily

"There's a clinical need for moderate interventions between weak pain medications and aggressive surgery, and we think radiation may be a suitable option for those patients especially when drugs and injections are poorly tolerated."

Read more on Science Daily

He said the figure has fallen by almost a quarter, which is equivalent to 24,811 fewer patients.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• calm 
• forgiving 
• gentle 
• quiet 
• tolerant