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patience

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noun [uncountable] American English pronunciation: patience /ˈpeɪʃəns/

Related dictionary definitions

  1. 1
    the ability to continue doing something for a long time without losing interest, especially something difficult
    need/require patience:

    Wildlife photography requires a lot of patience.

    have the patience for something:

    Most people wouldn’t have the patience for such painstaking work.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  patienceThesaurus entry for this meaning of patience
  2. 2
    the ability to wait for a long time without becoming angry or upset
    have patience:

    Have patience – he’ll be there soon.

    She was quickly losing patience with the whole project.

    run out of patience (=to no longer have patience):

    After waiting for an hour, I was beginning to run out of patience.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  patienceThesaurus entry for this meaning of patience
    1. a.
      the ability to accept situations that you do not like without becoming angry or upset

      You need a lot of patience and understanding to be a good parent.

      have no patience with someone/something:

      I’m afraid I have no patience with people like them.

      lose patience with someone/something:

      She was quickly losing patience with the whole unfortunate situation.

      the patience of a saint/of Job (=a lot of patience):

      You have to have the patience of a saint to work in a place like this.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  patienceThesaurus entry for this meaning of patience

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This is the American English definition of patience. View British English definition of patience.

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