pa·tient
Adjective
Enduring pain, difficulty, or annoyance with calmness. Tolerant, persevering, and constant. Capable of calmly awaiting an outcome or result. Example: My dog was so patient that he sat and waited half the day for someone to let him in the door.
Noun
One who receives medical treatment. Example: The nurse told her patient to drink a large glass of water.
Patient is a good word for me in November because I love Christmas and I love birthdays, and both my birthday and Christmas are in December. I always get impatient to start decorating my house for Christmas, and want to bring home a Christmas tree as soon as I can. But my husband likes to wait until only a couple weeks before Christmas to put up the tree, so I have to practice my patience!
Listen to a native speaker pronounce “patient”:
Photograph by David Taffet.