impatient
- 01 B1 Intermediate
feeling annoyed or irritable because you have to wait for something or someone.
restless and intolerant of delays or opposition; easily provoked by the slow pace of others.
Simple“The driver behind me became impatient and started honking his horn.”
In context“The manager grew increasingly impatient with the technical team as the software launch was delayed for the third consecutive week.”
UsageCommonly followed by the prepositions 'with' (for people) or 'at' (for situations).
PitfallHe is impatient about the bus. He is impatient for the bus.Use 'impatient for' when waiting for a thing, or 'impatient with' when annoyed by a person.
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
very excited and wanting to do something immediately.
showing an eager or anxious desire for something to happen or to begin a task.
Simple“The children were impatient to open their birthday presents.”
In context“After months of theoretical training, the recruits were impatient to begin their first practical field exercises.”
UsageOften followed by an infinitive verb ('impatient to do') or the preposition 'for'.
Antonyms
“Putin appeared impatient, tapping his feet as he listened.”
From Old French impacient (modern French impatient), from Latin impatiēns. By surface analysis, im- + patient.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.