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Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary pa·tience
\\ˈpā-shən(t)s\\ noun DATE 13th century 1. the capacity, habit, or fact of being patient2. chiefly British : solitaire 2 patience
early 13c., "quality of being patient in suffering," from O.Fr. pacience, from L. patientia "patience, endurance," from patientem (nom. patiens), prp. of pati "to suffer, endure," from PIE base *pei- "to damage, injure, hurt" (see passion)."Patience n. A minor form of despair, disguised as a virtue." [Ambrose Bierce, "Devil's Dictionary," 1911]Meaning "constancy in effort" is attested from 1510s. Meaning "card game for one person" is from 1816. Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary-牛津双解-OALD7 ☞ patiencepa·tience / 5peiFns / noun [U]1. ~ (with sb / sth) the ability to stay calm and accept a delay or sth annoying without complaining 耐心；忍耐力:
She has little patience with (= will not accept or consider) such views. 她很难接受这类观点。
People have lost patience with (= have become annoyed about) the slow pace of reform. 人们对改革的缓慢速度已经失去耐性。
My patience is wearing thin. 我要忍耐不住了。
I have run out of patience with her. 我对她已失去耐性了。
Teaching children with special needs requires patience and understanding. 教导有特殊需要的儿童需要耐心和体谅。2. the ability to spend a lot of time doing sth difficult that needs a lot of attention and effort 毅力；坚忍；恒心:
It takes time and patience to photograph wildlife. 拍摄野生动物要肯花时间,要有毅力。
I don't have the patience to do jigsaw puzzles. 我没有耐性做拼图游戏。3. (BrE) ( NAmE soli·taire) a card game for only one player 单人纸牌游戏 IDIOMS ⇨ see Job , try v. Oxford Collocations Dictionary for Students of English Oxford Collocations dictionary for students of Englishpatience
noun ADJ. endless, great, infinite VERB + PATIENCE exercise, have, show They thanked him for showing so much patience. | lack | be out of, lose, run out of It is quite clear that they are out of patience with me. We eventually ran out of patience with his childish behaviour. | keep I find it hard to keep my patience with them. | require, take Above all, fishing requires great patience. | exhaust, stretch, tax, test, try The children were beginning to try my patience. PATIENCE + VERB be exhausted, run out, snap, wear thin Molly could see Mr Kirkham's patience was running out, so she shut up. Her patience snapped and she walked out. | be rewarded Our patience was finally rewarded and we got the band's autographs. PREP. with ~ She listened with infinite patience to his excuses. | ~ for He has little patience for people who don't work. | ~ with The fans were losing patience with the team. PHRASES the patience of a saint These endless meetings are enough to tax the patience of a saint. patience noun ⇨ patience (show great patience) ⇨ lose patience ⇨ lose your temper Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged Search result show the entry is found in: patience plant , or patience dock , or herb patience
pa·tienceI. \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 verbarchaic : to have or practice patience transitive verbobsolete : to make patient
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