impatience

[ im-pey-shuhns ]

noun

1. lack of patience.
2. eager desire for relief or change; restlessness.
3. intolerance of anything that thwarts, delays, or hinders.

impatience

/ ɪmˈpeɪʃəns /

noun

1. lack of patience; intolerance of or irritability with anything that impedes or delays
2. restless desire for change and excitement

Word History and Origins

Origin of impatience¹

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English impacience, from Latin impatientia; im- ², patience

Example Sentences

It’s not like we’re unaware of how absurdly fortunate we are even as we slog through this second pandemic year with weary impatience.

From Time

I regret putting other climbers at risk, and I regret the impatience I felt.

From Outside Online

Maybe it’s the cold and snow blanketing so much more of the country than usual, or maybe it’s our collective impatience with a slow vaccine rollout as we approach the once-unthinkable milestone of a year under varying degrees of lockdown.

From Time

I know that impatience with corporate voice systems is a tiresome, hackneyed gripe.

From Washington Post

This time, the impatience was evident on both sides of the aisle.

From Washington Post

American women expressed their support and impatience when fighting puritanism and conservatism using Femen tactics.

From The Daily Beast

I called to her, but she slipped away with a tormenting smile at my helpless hands, and I followed her with some impatience.

From The Daily Beast

I waited and waited, closing my eyes with fear and impatience, but all was silent as the grave.

From The Daily Beast

Similarly, how little time Shostakovich spent on his work elucidates the fever and impatience of his mind.

From The Daily Beast

It was characterized by apocalyptic and incendiary rhetoric, anger, impatience, and revolutionary zeal.

From The Daily Beast

I waited three months more, in great impatience, then sent him back to the same post, to see if there might be a reply.

From Project Gutenberg

Liszt looked at it, and to her fright and dismay cried out in a fit of impatience, "No, I won't hear it!"

From Project Gutenberg

Felipe was so full of impatience to continue his search, that he hardly listened to the Father's words.

From Project Gutenberg

But he could not bear the reflection, and with fevered impatience, he hurried through the business of the morning.

From Project Gutenberg

Perhaps their course is wiser than that which hot impatience would prompt—nay, I believe it is.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• anger
• annoyance
• anxiety
• eagerness
• edginess
• excitement
• nervousness
• restlessness
• uneasiness