- pa|tience
- pa|tience «PAY shuhns», noun.1. willingness to put up with waiting, pain, or anything that annoys, troubles, or hurts; calm endurance without complaining or losing self-control: »
The cat watched the mouse hole with great patience. The boy needed patience when he was having his teeth filled.
3. a card game played by one person; solitaire.4. Obsolete. sufferance; indulgence; leave; permission: »I can go no further, sir…By your patience, I needs must rest me (Shakespeare).
╂[< Old French pacience, learned borrowing from Latin patientia < patiēns patient]Synonym Study 1, 2 Patience, forbearance, fortitude mean power to endure, without complaining, something unpleasant or painful. Patience implies calmness and self-control and applies whether one is enduring something unpleasant, or merely waiting, or doing something requiring steady effort: »Teachers need patience.
Forbearance implies uncommon self-control when greatly tried or provoked: »He endured the many attacks of his political opponents with admirable forbearance.
Fortitude implies strength of character and calm courage in facing danger or enduring suffering: »With fortitude, the disabled veteran learned a new trade.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.