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Which famous American poet wrote "A Noiseless Patient Spider"?

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patient

American  

[pey-shuhnt] / ˈpeɪ ʃənt /

noun

• patients
  plural

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.

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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 (opposed to agent).

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.

patient British  

/ 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

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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

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• patients
  plural

Etymology

Origin of patient

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”; see -ent

Explanation

You are patient if you don't get frustrated or annoyed when you have to wait or deal with difficulties. The band director may show patient leadership, but a football coach uses other methods with his team. It may be difficult to wait for something that takes a long time or deal with someone who is annoying, but if you are patient, you endure these things calmly and without frustration. Endure is the keyword here as patient comes from the Latin verb pati "to suffer, endure." Think of the patient way a chess player wins a game — calmly, steadily and willing to wait for the right time to act.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

patient patients

Yet after making an appointment, Torres, who lives in Ontario, received a message in her patient portal that made her heart sink.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026

As a society, we routinely desire what others have, yet too often lack the self-control or self-awareness to be patient and content with what we can afford.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026

"While we are alive we must be patient and do our work," he said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

Initially, we discounted this scenario because we assumed medical staff would be alerted if a diabetic patient had accidentally been given dextrose instead of insulin.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

Dr. Harlow says that after Phineas leaves Boston in 1850 he gets information about his former patient only from Phineas's mother.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

Elsewhere, the paper reports on dozens of patients losing thousands of pounds in savings in a "global IVF disaster".

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

Chadchart urged bedridden patients depending on life-saving medical equipment to consider a temporary stay in hospital.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

During that appeal last year, experts for Norris argued that the symptoms seen in several of the patients could occur naturally in elderly, frail people.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

Novo Nordisk agreed to license and develop the technology, which could cut the frequency patients need to inject its obesity and diabetes drugs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

The Louisiana Leper Home received more funds, with which the nuns built a water treatment plant and new cottages for the patients.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Related Words

• calm
• forgiving
• gentle
• quiet
• tolerant