impatient

[im-pey-shuhnt]

adjective

1. not patient; not accepting delay, opposition, pain, etc., with calm or patience.

   Synonyms: abrupt, brusque, curt, hot, violent, fretful, testy, irritable, unquiet, uneasy
   Antonyms: calm

2. indicating lack of patience.

   an impatient answer.

   Synonyms: abrupt, brusque, curt, hot, violent, fretful, testy, irritable

3. restless in desire or expectation; eagerly desirous.

   Synonyms: hasty, sudden, precipitate, impetuous

impatient

/ ɪmˈpeɪʃənt /

adjective

1. lacking patience; easily irritated at delay, opposition, etc

2. exhibiting lack of patience

   an impatient retort

3. intolerant (of) or indignant (at)

   impatient of indecision

4. restlessly eager (for something or to do something)

Other Word Forms

• impatiently adverb
• impatientness noun
• unimpatient adjective
• unimpatiently adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of impatient¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English impacient, from Latin impatient-, stem of impatiēns “not enduring, not tolerating”; equivalent to im- ² + patient

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. impatient of, intolerant of.

   impatient of any interruptions.

Example Sentences

Along a line of wooden power poles running to the horizon in both directions, 14 miles from the nearest paved road, a solitary pay phone beckons with the shrill sound of impatient civilization.

From Los Angeles Times

Estrada is impatient to move ahead but also appreciates that she and her husband need the time to better understand their yard and how it can be used.

From Los Angeles Times

At a different performance, I might have been more impatient with some of the strained dramatic turns.

From Los Angeles Times

But the discussions failed to bring the two sides any closer to peace and the US president has appeared increasingly impatient with the lack of progress.

From BBC

The video is less a breach in security than a modern rickroll, a bit of trolling for megafans who were as impatient as they were extremely online.

From Salon

Related Words

• anxious 
• eager 
• irritable 
• keen 
• restless 
• testy 
• thirsty 

When To Use

What does impatient mean?

Impatient means not accepting delays or obstacles with restraint and self-control, as in Fans were so impatient for the next book in the series that they overwhelmed the author with messages on Twitter.Someone who is impatient is generally not happy with having to wait. You might be impatient for your vacation to come, thinking about your vacation all the time and becoming irritable because it’s not vacation time yet. A driver might be impatient about being stuck in traffic, blowing their horn repeatedly to show their impatience.Impatient can be used figuratively to describe events that happen quickly. For example, an impatient winter might describe a time in the autumn when the temperature drops quickly, implying that the winter season was too impatient to wait until its proper time to come.Impatient is sometimes used in the idiom impatient of, meaning intolerant of. For example, someone who is generally kind and patient may be impatient of lying. If they’re lied to, they may become irritable and argumentative with the person telling the lie. Impatient of is normally used in situations in which someone is drawing contrast to their tolerance of other things by highlighting their impatience of something.Example: I’ve had so much work lately, but my boss is still impatient about my handing in work on time.