patient

[ pey-shuhnt ]

/ ˈpeɪ ʃənt /

|||

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR patient ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person who is under medical care or treatment.

a person or thing that undergoes some action.

Archaic. a sufferer or victim.

adjective

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

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

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

undergoing the action of another (opposed to agent).

Nearby words

pathos, pathosis, pathway, patiala, patience, patient, patiki, patin, patina, patinaed, patinate

Idioms

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

1275–1325; Middle English pacient (adj. and noun) < Middle French < Latin patient- (stem of patiēns), present participle of patī to undergo, suffer, bear; see -ent

SYNONYMS FOR patient

1 invalid.

4 uncomplaining, long-suffering, forbearing, resigned, passive, calm.

5 quiet, serene, unruffled, unexcited, self-possessed, composed.

6 sedulous, assiduous, untiring.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR patient ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR patient

4 hostile.

5 impatient, agitated.

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Related forms

pa·tient·less, adjectivepa·tient·ly, adverbpa·tient·ness, nouno·ver·pa·tient, adjective

qua·si-pa·tient, adjectivequa·si-pa·tient·ly, adverbsu·per·pa·tient, adjectivesu·per·pa·tient·ly, adverbun·pa·tient, adjectiveun·pa·tient·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for patient

Doctors are prohibited from doing what a patient needs by rigid practice guidelines.
Red Tape Is Strangling Good Samaritans|Philip K. Howard|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This not only defrauds the state out of thousands of dollars, but also deprives the patient who needs the drugs.
No More Paper Prescriptions: Docs Fight Fraud by Going Electronic|Dale Eisinger|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Within days of the first symptom, a headache, the patient was fighting for his life.
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, Dec 8-14, 2014|William Boot|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
No trained medical provider could possibly expect to nourish a patient this way.
‘Rectal Feeding’ Has Nothing to Do with Nutrition, Everything to Do with Torture|Russell Saunders|December 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Emergent procedures provide their benefit right away and have the awesome potential to rescue a patient from the brink of death.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Risky Heart Surgery|Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD|November 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
That child was as truly an object of reverence to us as any patient sufferer of mature age.
Household Education|Harriet Martineau
Dr. Knox, then going off on foot to see a patient, came across the yard from the surgery at the same moment.
Johnny Ludlow, Third Series|Mrs. Henry Wood
It would kill the lad to bring him up, and as he is my patient, I have told him to stay below.
Peter Trawl|W. H. G. Kingston
The numerous enquiries which the patient had made, furnished him with materials for reflexion.
Observations on Madness and Melancholy|John Haslam
You have only to be patient a little longer and all will be well.
In Brief Authority|F. Anstey

British Dictionary definitions for patient

patient

/ (ˈpeɪʃənt) /

adjective

enduring trying circumstances with even temper

tolerant; understanding

capable of accepting delay with equanimity

persevering or diligenta patient worker

archaic admitting of a certain interpretation

noun

a person who is receiving medical care

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

Derived Forms

patiently, adverb

Word Origin for patient

C14: see patience

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

patient

noun

adjective

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of patient

SYNONYMS FOR patient

ANTONYMS FOR patient

Related forms

Examples from the Web for patient

British Dictionary definitions for patient

patient

adjective

noun

Derived Forms

Word Origin for patient

Medicine definitions for patient

patient

n.