Word
patience
Phoneticspa·tience
US/ˈpeɪʃəns/
UK/pˈeɪʃəns/
Definitions
01waiting calmly
n. the ability to stay calm when you are waiting for something or dealing with a problem.
n. the capacity to endure delay, difficulty, or annoyance without provocation or loss of temper.
“You need a lot of patience to teach young children how to read.”
“The negotiator's patience was tested as the discussions dragged on for hours without any sign of a compromise.”
Usage
Often used with the verbs 'have', 'lose', or 'run out of'.
Pitfall
I don't have many patience for this.
I don't have much patience for this.
Patience is an uncountable noun in this sense, so use 'much' or 'a lot of' instead of 'many'.
Antonyms
02card game
n. any card game that you play by yourself.
n. any of various card games played by a single person, typically involving the sorting of cards into a specific order.
“He sat by the fire playing a game of patience to pass the time.”
“While waiting for the storm to pass, she occupied herself with several rounds of patience on the small wooden table.”
British English
Usage
Usually uncountable; referred to as 'solitaire' in American English.
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“International coaches are not afforded the same amount of time on the training pitch as club managers, so patience could be required if the plan is to move to a more possession-based style.” “Yohanna will need a little patience as he’s still quite raw but, if he is given opportunities at Brighton this season, he will catch the eye.” Etymology
From patience, a virtue name first used by Puritans in the sixteenth century.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Related words
Idioms
patience of a saint — Synonym of patience of an angel.
patience of an angel — A great deal of patience.
patience of Job — A great amount of patience.
patience of Mother Teresa — A great deal of patience.
test someone's patience — To begin to frustrate someone.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/patience