I. ˈpāshən(t)s noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English pacience, from Old French patience, pacience, from Latin patientia, from patient-, patiens, (present participle of pati to suffer) + -ia -y — more at patient
1.
a. : the capacity or habit of enduring evil, adversity, or pain with fortitude
patience , like charity, is long-suffering and kind. It is, moreover, the most practical of the virtues — Irwin Edman
patience as well as courage — if there be any difference between them — is a necessary mark of the liberal mind — John Dewey
b. : forbearance under stress, provocation, or indignity : toleration or magnanimity for the faults or affronts of others : courageous endurance
he conducted himself with patience and tact, endeavoring to enforce the laws and to check any revolutionary moves — W.E.Stevens
c. : calm self-possession in confronting obstacles or delays : steadfastness
patience is the capacity to endure all that is necessary in attaining a desired end … patience never forsakes the ultimate goal — Margaret Kennedy
2. obsolete : permission , leave
3. also patience dock : a coarse European dock ( Rumex patientia ) formerly used like spinach
4. chiefly Britain : solitaire 3a
Synonyms:
patience , long-suffering , long-sufferance , longanimity , forbearance , and resignation can all signify a power of enduring without complaint what is disagreeable. patience stresses composure under suffering as in awaiting an unduly delayed outcome or in performing an exacting task
endured with smiling patience — Lafcadio Hearn
by his patience in reading manuscript and proofs — E.A.Armstrong
twigs, which he carried to his room and later with great patience wove into the form of a basket — Sherwood Anderson
the calm and infinite patience of those who have no ambition — G.S.Gale
long-suffering (or long-sufferance ) and longanimity imply extraordinary patience under provocation or trial; long-suffering sometimes suggests undue meekness or submissiveness; longanimity more often designates the virtue rather than the capacity of enduring
the earliest heroines in English literature were long-suffering creatures. They were subjected to constant masculine persecution — F.A.Swinnerton
the long-sufferance of the army is almost exhausted — George Washington
the attitude of the officials towards him was one, at first of amused tolerance, then of bored longanimity, and finally … of irritation — George Antonius
forbearance adds to long-suffering the implication of restraint in expression of feelings or in exaction of penalties, connoting a tolerance of what merits censure
her forbearance with her incorrigible husband — Willa Cather
he dwelt on his forbearance, on the concessions which he had offered — J.A.Froude
show great forbearance in the face of insult
resignation implies submission to or acceptance of suffering, often connoting stoicism or fatalism
most readers either positively enjoy the snobbery columns of their newspapers, or else accept them with resignation, as part of the established order of things — Aldous Huxley
we need resignation to learn to live in a world that is not formed just for our comfort — M.R.Cohen
notable for their endurance, capacity for suffering and resignation — W.C.Huntington
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
intransitive verb
archaic : to have or practice patience
transitive verb
obsolete : to make patient