patience

¹

[pey-shuhns]

noun

1. the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.

   Synonyms: sufferance, submissiveness, self-possession, stability, composure

2. an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay.

   to have patience with a slow learner.

3. quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence.

   to work with patience.

   Synonyms: assiduity, persistence, indefatigability

4. Cards (chiefly British).,  solitaire.

5. Also called patience dock. a European dock, Rumex patientia, of the buckwheat family, whose leaves are often used as a vegetable.

6. Obsolete.,  leave; permission; sufference.

Patience

²

[pey-shuhns]

noun

1. a female given name.

patience

/ ˈpeɪʃəns /

noun

1. tolerant and even-tempered perseverance

2. the capacity for calmly enduring pain, trying situations, etc

3. US equivalent: solitaire. any of various card games for one player only, in which the cards may be laid out in various combinations as the player tries to use up the whole pack

4. obsolete,  permission; sufferance

Other Word Forms

• superpatience noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of patience¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English pacience, from Old French, from Latin patientia. See patient, -ence

Word History and Origins

Origin of patience¹

C13: via Old French from Latin patientia endurance, from patī to suffer

Idioms and Phrases

see try one's patience.

Synonym Study

Patience, endurance, fortitude, stoicism imply qualities of calmness, stability, and persistent courage in trying circumstances. Patience may denote calm, self-possessed, and unrepining bearing of pain, misfortune, annoyance, or delay; or painstaking and untiring industry or (less often) application in the doing of somehing: to bear afflictions with patience. Endurance denotes the ability to bear exertion, hardship, or suffering (without implication of moral qualities required or shown): Running in a marathon requires great endurance. Fortitude implies not only patience but courage and strength of character in the midst of pain, affliction, or hardship: to show fortitude in adversity. Stoicism is calm fortitude, with such repression of emotion as to seem almost like indifference to pleasure or pain: The American Indians were noted for stoicism under torture.

Example Sentences

Innings were crafted with patience in a slow-developing chess match between batsmen and bowling attacks.

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Americans built homes on their foundation, raised children on their credit, retired on their patience.

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Any semblance of patience has been washed away.

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Lady Constance rarely had the patience to write these herself, and her cursive letters were loopy to the point of being illegible.

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Penelope was losing patience, but she was also beginning to feel sorry for this urchin.

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Related Words

• composure 
• diligence 
• endurance 
• fortitude 
• grit 
• humility 
• moderation 
• perseverance 
• persistence 
• poise 
• restraint 
• self-control 
• tolerance