impatientIMPA'TIENT, a. [L. impatiens.] Uneasy or fretful under suffering; not bearing pain with composure; not enduring evil without fretfulness,uneasiness, and a desire or effort to get rid of the evil. Young men are impatient of restraint. We are all apt to be impatient under wrongs; but it is a christian duty not to be impatient in sickness, or under any afflictive dispensation of Providence. This word is followed by of, at, for, or under. We are impatient of restraint, or of wrongs; impatient at the delay of expected good; impatient for the return of a friend, or for the arrival of the mail; impatient under evils of any kind. The proper use of these particles can be learnt only by practice or observation. IMPA'TIENT, n. One who is restless under suffering. |