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• patience
  patience

  noun

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

  noun

  a female given name.

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patience

¹ American  

[pay-shuhns] / ˈpeɪ ʃəns /

noun

• patience
  plural

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.

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Patience ² American  

[pay-shuhns] / ˈpeɪ ʃəns /

noun

1. a female given name.

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patience British  

/ 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

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patience Idioms  

1. see try one's patience.

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Synonym Usage

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.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• superpatience
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• patience
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of patience

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

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Explanation

Patience is a person's ability to wait something out or endure something tedious, without getting riled up. It takes a lot of patience to wait for your braces to come off, to deal with a toddler's temper tantrum, or to build a house out of toothpicks. Having patience means you can remain calm, even when you've been waiting forever or dealing with something painstakingly slow or trying to teach someone how to do something and they just don't get it. It involves acceptance and tolerance, and is usually easier to have when there's something in it for you at the end. That could be a goal you've been slowly working to achieve, or just lower blood pressure.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

patience Patience

He had furloughed people who handled such things during the partial government shutdown over immigration, and since he famously lacks patience, Hegseth sent a couple of flunkies to retrieve the historic object immediately.

From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2026

The fourth quarter may need patience from investors, but Sabre’s pricing means it is well positioned to deal with higher claims inflation, Barclays adds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

The priority will be developing the stamina, pacing and tactical patience required over 12 rounds before pursuing another world title opportunity.

From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026

“The long wait has been real, patience has been tested, but the interest in what they’re planning to deliver hasn’t gone away,” Ken Kaczmarek, a longtime Tesla investor, told MarketWatch ahead of the event.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

He seemed to go into a trance, scanning the land with endless patience, and often finding some tiny sign that most full-grown hunters would have missed.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

Rwabwogo is married to the army chief's sister, Patience.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

What’s off about Patience is a seesawing set of symptoms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

On the eve of the City Section championship baseball game at Dodger Stadium, let’s explore a sometimes forgotten character trait: Patience.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026

On one side is Fort Patience, a reminder of European trade and colonial ambition.

From BBC ● May 2, 2026

“I grew up here, but my mom and dad got tired of all the hurricanes and moved us to California when I was in high school. They’re still out there. They’re fine,” said Patience.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

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Related Words

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

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