Patience kids definition: Patience Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster

Patience Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster

pa·​tience

ˈpā-shən(t)s 

1

: the capacity, habit, or fact of being patient

2

chiefly British

: solitaire sense 2

Synonyms

• forbearance
• long-suffering
• sufferance
• tolerance

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Example Sentences

To be a biographer is a somewhat peculiar endeavor. It seems to me it requires not only the tact, patience, and thoroughness of a scholar but also the stamina of a horse.

—Nancy Milford, Vanity Fair, August 2001

… in this time of bioethical conundrums, it is good to know that patience, good will, and personal morality will untie far more intellectual knots than the disarray of rancor, conflict, and special interests …

—Sherwin B. Nuland, New Republic, 13 Dec. 1999

Mind-numbing delays and irrelevant search results are enough to try the patience of the most saintly Web surfers.

—Neil Gross et al., Business Week, 14 June 1999

After a while, their ideological certitudes tried the patience of their own peoples …

—Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., New Yorker, 16 Nov. 1992

I don’t have the patience to wait in line for hours just to buy a ticket.

Investors need to have patience. The economy will improve soon.

She treated her students with great patience and humor.

I don’t have the patience to do crossword puzzles.

See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Working together also requires more patience on both parts.

—Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 29 Dec. 2022

Ultimately, quarterbacks have to make big-time throws to pull out rallies in the fourth quarter, but the way defenses are playing, patience often is required to make decisions to live another down.

—Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 11 Dec. 2022

Whether it’s taking the dog for a walk, making sure the pet has the proper veterinary care or training the animal — the time and patience needed to take care of a young new dog can be extensive.

—Brittany Kasko, Fox News, 5 Dec. 2022

While Jumia’s new leadership is eager for new milestones that accelerate profitability, patience will be required.

—Alexander Onukwue, Quartz, 18 Nov. 2022

Few of us have the time or patience to perfect the skills needed to make culinary masterpieces ourselves.

—Kendra Nordin Beato, The Christian Science Monitor, 14 Nov. 2022

While this was something that last-minute travelers could secure for a hefty bounty before the pandemic, these days, a little patience will be required.

—Ramsey Qubein, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Nov. 2022

Either way, anyone with a Wi-Fi connection should be able to operate their smart home with a degree in computer science, or an infinite amount of time and patience.

—Medea Giordano, WIRED, 12 Oct. 2022

Atlanta attorney Brad Elbein, a former regional director of the Federal Trade Commission, reads the fine print on every contract, but most of us have neither the time nor patience for that.

—Laura Daily, Washington Post, 27 Sep. 2022

See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ‘patience.’ Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

see patient entry 1

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of patience was
in the 13th century

See more words from the same century

Dictionary Entries Near

patience

patibulary

patience

patience plant

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

Style

MLAChicagoAPAMerriam-Webster

“Patience. ” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patience. Accessed 3 Jan. 2023.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

patience

noun

pa·​tience

ˈpā-shən(t)s 

: the quality or state of being patient

More from Merriam-Webster on

patience

Nglish: Translation of patience for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of patience for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated:
1 Jan 2023
– Updated example sentences

Subscribe to America’s largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Merriam-Webster unabridged

Patient Definition & Meaning – Merriam-Webster

1 of 2

pa·​tient

ˈpā-shənt 

1

: bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint

2

: manifesting forbearance under provocation or strain

3

: not hasty or impetuous

4

: steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity

5

a

: able or willing to bear

—used with of

b

: susceptible, admitting

patient of one interpretation

patient

2 of 2

pa·​tient

ˈpā-shənt 

1

a

: an individual awaiting or under medical care and treatment

cancer patients

psychiatric patients

b

: the recipient of any of various personal services

2

: one that is acted upon

are agents as well as patients and observers in the world—C. H. Whiteley

Synonyms

Adjective

• forbearing
• long-suffering
• stoic
• stoical
• tolerant
• uncomplaining

Noun

• case

See all Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus 

Example Sentences

Adjective

To pry apart violent Islamic radicals, the United States has to become knowledgeable about internal cleavages and be patient in exploiting them.

—Samantha Power, New York Times Book Review, 29 July 2007

I pack them into the compartment for a visit, pack till it’s full far beyond capacity and weep with them, share with them my scanty bit of good fortune, tell them I care, tell them be patient, tell them I’m on their side …

—John Edgar Wideman, Harper’s, December 2003

There’s no sense being patient with people who make you wait, because they’ll only make you wait longer the next time.

—Andrew A. Rooney, And More by Andy Rooney, (1979) 1982

I hate having to stand in long lines. I’m just not very patient.

The teacher treated her students in a patient and understanding way.

“Aren’t you finished yet?” “Be patient. I’ll be done soon.”

Proofreading requires patient attention to detail.

They put in years of patient labor on the project.

Noun

Several patients were waiting to see the doctor.

the nurse asked the patient to change into a paper gown

See More

Recent Examples on the Web

The Hammond Fire Department has made 27,388 patient runs — an average of 15 runs per day — to the hospital’s emergency room in the last five years, according to McDermott.

—George Wiebe, Chicago Tribune, 19 Dec. 2022

The drug showed some effectiveness in slowing the progression of ALS, based on patient questionnaires.

—Arkansas Online, 19 Dec. 2022

Griffin led a yearlong investigation that uncovered delays in medical care that contributed to patient deaths at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals nationwide.

—Mark Heim | [email protected], al, 19 Dec. 2022

Everything about the design centers around patients—quality of service, number of beds, speed of patient turnover, etc.

—Guy Yehiav, Forbes, 19 Dec. 2022

Some patient advocates think the attitude amounts to medical paternalism.

—Jason Mast, STAT, 19 Dec. 2022

In spite of Ellie’s verbal abuse, Charlie is a gentle, patient man, an optimist who sees the good in people to nearly a fault.

—Brianna Zigler, Chron, 19 Dec. 2022

The drug showed some effectiveness in slowing the progression of ALS, based on patient questionnaires.

—Matthew Perrone, Fortune, 18 Dec. 2022

The question is, does violating nursing ratios equate to an erosion in the quality of patient care?

—San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Dec. 2022

But this person added that the hospital had provided staff with 8-ounce bottles of water for all patient and family needs.

—Jessica Bartlett, BostonGlobe.com, 8 Dec. 2022

Today marks my journey from cancer patient, to cancer SURVIVOR.

—Tracey Harrington Mccoy, Peoplemag, 8 Dec. 2022

Others allege Salata offered patients alcohol and other substances and allege that Salata showed one patient pictures of other patients on his cell phone.

—Julianne Mcshane, NBC News, 7 Dec. 2022

That could prove to be more dangerous as the effectiveness of Narcan wanes, which has caused first responders and medical professionals to administer multiple doses of the drug to an overdose patient.

—Michael Lee, Fox News, 7 Dec. 2022

But a growing body of research suggests that these devices, which clamp onto a patient’s fingertip to measure their blood oxygen levels, may not work as well on people with dark skin tones.

—Jacqueline Howard, CNN, 7 Dec. 2022

As an 80-year-old patient who has gotten five doses of vaccine and recovered from a prior Omicron infection, Joe Biden’s case exists outside existing evidence.

—Benjamin Mazer, The Atlantic, 7 Dec. 2022

These drugs are meant to improve blood sugar control by increasing insulin production in the pancreas and delay food leaving your stomach, which decreases the patient’s appetite.

—Brittany Spanos, Rolling Stone, 7 Dec. 2022

The scientists were able to check the results of their system against a clinical diagnosis given by an otolaryngologist who examined each patient.

—Maggie Chen, WIRED, 6 Dec. 2022

See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ‘patient. ‘ Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective and Noun

Middle English pacient, from Anglo-French, from Latin patient-, patiens, from present participle of pati to suffer; perhaps akin to Greek pēma suffering

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of patient was
in the 14th century

See more words from the same century

Dictionary Entries Near

patient

patiency

patient

patient dumping

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

Style

MLAChicagoAPAMerriam-Webster

“Patient. ” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patient. Accessed 3 Jan. 2023.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

patient

1 of 2

adjective

pa·​tient

ˈpā-shənt 

1

: putting up with pains or hardships calmly or without complaint

2

: showing calm self-control

3

: not hasty or reckless

4

: steadfast sense 2, persevering

years of patient labor

patiently
adverb

patient

2 of 2

noun

: an individual awaiting or under medical care and treatment

Medical Definition

patient

noun

pa·​tient

ˈpā-shənt 

1

: a sick individual especially when awaiting or under the care and treatment of a physician or surgeon

the hospital is equipped to handle 500 patients

2

: a client for medical service (as of a physician or dentist)

a good practice with a large number of patients

More from Merriam-Webster on

patient

Nglish: Translation of patient for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of patient for Arabic Speakers

Britannica. com: Encyclopedia article about patient

Last Updated:
22 Dec 2022
– Updated example sentences

Subscribe to America’s largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Merriam-Webster unabridged

Patience in dealing with children. How to raise a healthy and smart child. Your baby from A to Z

Patience in dealing with children

Parents tend to try to be patient with their children. To have patience means to be able to calmly wait, calmly achieve certain actions, endure anxiety or pain as calmly as possible. This concept also includes firmness of character, a sense of self-control and courage. All these qualities are very important in the attitude of parents to children. nine0003

Being patient with children can be both short-term and long-term. Parents should remember that a child moves more slowly than an adult, so he dresses, eats, bathes, collects toys, and gets ready for bed much longer than his parents. And it should be remembered that all these processes are relatively new for him. No matter how much a child wants to please his mother, he is not able to do it faster or think it over in advance. He lacks the coordination of movements in order to dress himself: for example, putting on a sock requires concentration and painful effort. If the child is rushed, he spends even more time or he generally loses the desire to learn to dress himself. nine0003

A mother who is accustomed to doing everything quickly should accustom herself to waiting, to walk more slowly, to stop often, to calmly listen to any stories of her son or daughter. She should especially try to avoid feeling irritated by reminding herself that this is the most the child can do, or that this is the fastest walk for him.

Calm perseverance is another meaning of the word patience and is important when it comes to helping a child learn a skill. It is not enough just to wait until he learns. It is also necessary to adhere to a number of rules and guide the child in the learning process. He always needs firm guidance from his parents. nine0003

Parents must show long-term patience with their child’s growth rate. So far, not everything is known about individual differences in the development of children and those jumps that distinguish their growth at different stages. Some children are slower than others to get used to new foods, some children find it difficult to get used to using the toilet, a small child may develop muscle coordination quickly but learn to speak slowly, etc. Parents should not be dissatisfied if their the kid does not make such progress as the neighbor’s children or his schoolmates. nine0003

But parental patience is also not unlimited. And when they are presented with impulsive, sometimes not entirely reasonable, often irrational demands, parents must make it clear to their children that there is a limit to everything. Patience is not a parental virtue if it allows children to commit uncontrollable destructive acts or make unreasonable requests. Being patient with children means being positive and tolerant, but not yielding out of weakness.

nine0002 This text is an introductory fragment.

Chapter 2. Personal-meaning sphere of a preschooler and its development in communication with an adult

Chapter 2
2.1. Features of the personal-semantic sphere of the preschool child At preschool age, the entire mental life of the child and his attitude to the world around him are rebuilt. The essence of this restructuring0003

Chapter 3. Development of voluntariness and awareness of behavior in communication between preschoolers and adults

Chapter 3
3. 1. Arbitrariness as a central neoplasm of preschool age and the conditions for its formation Among all the achievements of the mental development of a child at preschool age in

nine0018 Chapter 4

Chapter 4
4.1. Typical difficulties in communicating with preschoolers With all the variety of problems that educators face, two groups of difficulties in communicating a child with an adult can be distinguished, which are most typical for

Part 3 Preschoolers with communication difficulties

nine0002
Part 3 Preschoolers with Communication Difficulties
Relationships with other people are born and develop most intensively in childhood. Moreover, the main space for the birth of such relationships is the sphere of communication with equals – with peers. Research shows that by the end of

Chapter 5.

Psychological Causes of Children’s Difficulties in Communication and Interpersonal Relations with Peers

Chapter 5
Comparing different types of children with problems in communication, one can see that they differ significantly in the nature of their behavior and in the degree of difficulty for parents and children.0003

Vacation with children

Vacation with children
Many parents find joy and satisfaction in spending holidays with their children. A decrease in the rhythm of everyday life, a change of scenery – all this can have a wonderful effect on the whole family. Feeling of relaxation (i.e. release of tension) and freedom

“Socratic dialogue” in communication with a child

nine0002
“Socratic dialogue” in communication with a child
“Recently, a middle-aged man came to the next lesson of our club. Kostya (as he introduced himself) raised the following problem for discussion. The other day, his 12-year-old son Semyon had a parent meeting at school. Went there

Error eight: manipulation and deceit in communication with a child

Mistake eight: manipulation and deceit in communicating with a child
Our Vanya came to Abram in the spring and said
“Abram, give me a ruble for seeds, I’ll give you two in the fall!” Abram replied: “All right, I’ll give you a ruble.” But all of a sudden you won’t return this ruble to me? Give me an ax as a pledge. Vanya

Chapter XXII ILPT: development of speech in communication

Chapter XXII
ILPT: development of speech in communication
On the unity of linguistic, mental and social in the formation of speech
Speech is not only a system of signs, not only a part of the human physiology and psyche, which is associated with all cognitive and psychodynamic processes, but also

Modeling of problem situations in communication

Modeling of problem situations in communication
One of the varieties of communication training is role-playing training, in which a person learns free, relaxed, non-anxious well-being in a situation of publicity and attention directed to him, playing

96.

Show patience and perseverance

96. Show patience and perseverance
“When Aurora was one and a half years old, I sometimes woke up to five times a night to drink orange juice from a bottle. As a result, only she managed to fall asleep again … ”
Mum
The advantage of the progressive technique over the radical one is

“Mom, let’s go”: how to teach a child patience . Few parents understand how difficult it is for a baby to show this quality, especially up to two or three years.

The parts of the brain that are responsible for the child’s emotional-volitional and intellectual processes are just beginning to develop. nine0078 Children learn to control their desires, as a rule, only by the senior preschool age. Moreover, babies live here and now, they have no concept of time, and they can only imagine how something will happen later when they reach four years old … What should parents do? Teaching children patience, especially since our experts say that the foundations of this quality are laid at an early age.

Between things

It is pointless to purposefully train a child’s patience until the age of four. nine0078 Toddlers under this age are not able to establish a causal relationship between an action and a possible result. Indirectly, patience is formed in the crumbs when learning to use a cup, spoon, the ability to dress or go to the potty. Indeed, it is sometimes very difficult for a little man to cope with naughty fasteners or to correctly pick up a cutlery.

• Give your child enough attention. In this case, already at the age of 1–1.5 years, he will be able to wait a few minutes until his mother finishes the work she is doing. “Don’t quit your activity as soon as the baby asks for your attention,” advises Alena Aleshina , development director of the training company EQuator, psychologist, expert in the development of emotional intelligence. “Make eye contact with him, pat him on the head, kindly explain why you need to wait a little, and after a few minutes, be sure to give him time!” Then he will gain experience: if you wait a little, you can get what you want.

• Do not create artificial waiting situations for young children. From time to time, the child still faces the need to wait (for example, the mother did not have time to heat up the food in advance). These situations are enough to start a conversation with the baby about patience, to talk about what sometimes you have to endure, that it can be difficult. You can tell that other people may also have their own needs: “Now you need to wait a bit, because I need to make a salad for dad.” nine0003

• Use the terms “minutes” and “hours” less. The child does not know time very well. Therefore, if you want to explain to him, “when, finally,” use “regime” moments (“It will be after you have dinner”, “Dad will return when you are already getting ready for bed”).

• Teach your little one to focus on what he is doing. As practice shows, it is easiest to occupy a child’s attention for at least ten minutes with the help of creative activities: modeling, drawing with finger paints, playing with sand and water. Hide-and-seek, silence and “who will sit longer without movement” are suitable for spending time together. nine0003

10 minutes – this is exactly how long children under 3 years old can do one type of activity. By the age of 6, this time gradually increases to 35 minutes.

Workout

• To develop the skills of patience, exercises that are aimed at maintaining a certain body position for some time are suitable. These, for example, include the well-known “swallow” or “heron” poses, as well as some yoga asanas that can also be used for practicing with children: “downward-facing dog”, “frog”, “cobra”, “fish” and other. Practice physical minutes, gradually increasing the time the child is in one position or another. nine0003

• You can also “think up” a competition for who can last the longest without making a single movement. The winner will get a small but tasty prize.

• From the age of three, you can start developing your baby’s focused attention. This valuable quality is the foundation for the formation of patience. For this, games “in between times” are suitable, which you can practice on the way to kindergarten or on a walk. Ask your child to mark objects of the same color that he meets on his way. Or let the baby clap her hands as soon as she sees a crow, and if she meets a dove, she stamps her foot. nine0003

• Closer to four years old, you can make attention games more difficult. Offer the child the game “What has changed?”. Arrange several small items on the table in a certain order (start with 5-6, gradually increasing their number to 15), give the baby 30 seconds to memorize their location on the table. Ask him to close his eyes, remove / add one item or swap them. Then ask him to tell you what has changed.

Picture

Getty Images/Cultura RF

Right on target

By the age of 5-6, most children can wait a bit and do something interesting and fun for 20-30 minutes. The only “but” is that they do not always have the patience to finish what they started. But this is precisely what is the basis of such strong-willed qualities of the baby as perseverance, perseverance, perseverance. During this period, it is very important for parents to maintain the child’s interest in the chosen activity and encourage him to complete what he started. nine0003

• Choose the right activities. Any kind of creativity perfectly develops patience. In this case, the child will be able not to wait for the result for a long time, but to evaluate it here and now.

• Divide the child’s laborious task into several stages. For example, if he can’t sort out all the scattered toys at once, let him finish cleaning in the morning. Or, if you teach a child to pronounce a sound correctly, first teach him to hear it in words, then understand whether it is at the beginning or end of the word, and only then train the correct pronunciation of it. Be sure to support your child’s success at every stage. nine0003

• Support your child’s efforts. This is best done with the help of stories about the kid’s favorite heroes who did something and achieved success, although they did not succeed at once. Remember the story of Winnie the Pooh – he patiently planned “how to get to the honey on the tree” and as a result came up with using Piglet’s balloon for this.

• Explain why patience or effort is needed. For example, if at first you can’t fold the rings, then you need to practice a little, and then you get a beautiful pyramid. As soon as we reach the right place by plane, you will find yourself in a new interesting place. When the holiday comes, they will bring you a cake and gifts. The older the child, the more complex goals he will be able to realize. Then he can already talk about how impatience affects, for example, people’s relationships: “When you interrupt your grandmother while she is talking, she gets upset. And if you can listen to her to the end, she will be very pleased. nine0003

• Avoid praise for qualities and traits, but praise for specific things. Instead of “How smart you are!” say, “You’re already great at jigsaw puzzles,” or “What a beautiful picture you drew! He must have tried very hard!” “Praise of this kind forms a set for future growth: as adults, children who have been praised for diligence and patience put more effort into achieving what they want,” explains Alena Aleshina. “When faced with failure, they do not lose heart, but look for what else they need to learn in order to achieve a result.” When parents praise a child for his or her abilities (“You are so talented!”), the child grows up with a fixed mindset. If something does not work out for such a person, he writes it off as a lack of necessary qualities and loses motivation for further actions. Needless to say, children raised with a growth mindset become more patient, strong-willed, and, as a result, more successful? nine0003

Patience is the ability to set aside psychological rather than physical needs for some purpose. The desire to go to the toilet, hunger, thirst, the baby should not endure.

Training

• It is still difficult for a child to imagine the ultimate goal of his work. To convince him to complete something to the end, invite him to do something according to your model. For example, you can make a collage in advance from improvised material: twigs, buttons, beads, pieces of thread and fabric. Stick all of the above on a piece of cardboard in random order and invite your child to repeat your masterpiece. Of course, let him bring something of his own to the picture. nine0003

• The search for “treasure” perfectly trains patience! Especially if you hide something valuable for the child. You can “bury the treasure” in the room (this option is suitable for younger kids) or on the street. You can search for treasure according to a pre-drawn plan or by counting steps from any starting point (suitable for those guys who are already well versed in such concepts as right and left, forward and backward).

• Any kind of experiment is great for practicing the concept of “wait and you will get results”. You can grow crystals, germinate seeds, watch the buds bloom on a twig you brought from the forest, or roots appear on the cuttings of a house plant. Think about how the child will record his observations: these can be drawings, a photo report, a table that you will fill out with him. nine0003

Photo

Miodrag Gajic/Getty Images/E+

Standby

Hard to endure! Nevertheless, adults are constantly trying to convince the child that this is a mere trifle. “Mom will come in the evening, it’s already very soon”, “Just think, wait a couple of days, what nonsense!”. Don’t lie! Remember how you react to situations where patience is needed. Often we ourselves fuss in line at the store, while waiting for the bus, express dissatisfaction in a traffic jam . .. “In fact, we show a desire typical of a modern person – we want to get everything immediately! What kind of teaching the child’s patience in this case can we talk about? — comments Polina Leonova , teacher-psychologist of the educational center “Aristotle”. “He, like a mirror, will copy your behavior.”

• Work on yourself. If you are expecting something with your child, do not be nervous and do not languish with idleness, but take this time with something interesting. Word games, associations in this case will do just fine. Compose a fairy tale, count the number of objects of any color that you come across along the way …. In this way, you will show your child that patience is an effective means to an end. nine0003

• Honestly, waiting is really hard. It is better to talk about this in situations of expectation, when there is a reason to tell the baby why, in fact, this is necessary. “We are waiting for the green traffic light to cross the road while the cars are standing, it is safe and convenient.