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patient

[ pey-shuhnt ]
/ ˈpeɪ ʃənt /
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See synonyms for: patient / patients / patiently / patientness 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
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Idioms about patient

    patient of,
    1. having or showing the capacity for endurance: a man patient of distractions.
    2. 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

OTHER WORDS FROM patient

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to patient

calm, forgiving, gentle, quiet, tolerant, case, inmate, subject, sufferer, victim, long-suffering, understanding, convalescent, emergency, invalid, outpatient, shut-in, accommodating, composed, easygoing

How to use patient in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for patient

patient
/ (ˈpeɪʃənt) /
adjective
noun
a person who is receiving medical care
rare a person or thing that is the recipient of some action

Derived forms of patient

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
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