Patient (adjective) — able to wait calmly for a long time or to accept difficulties, delays, or mistakes without becoming angry or anxious.
Patient (noun) — a person who is receiving or registered to receive medical treatment from a doctor, hospital, or other health professional.
What Does Patient Mean?
Patient comes from the Latin patiens, the present participle of pati, meaning "to suffer or endure". It entered English via Old French pacient in the 14th century. Both the medical noun (one who endures illness) and the tolerant adjective (one who endures difficulty calmly) trace directly to this Latin root of quiet endurance.
As an adjective, patient describes a person's temperament or behaviour in a specific situation. It implies deliberate, calm restraint rather than passive indifference — a patient teacher still notices the mistake but chooses to respond without frustration. In language learning contexts it is particularly common: tutors, coursebooks, and motivational quotes all encourage learners to "be patient" with themselves and the process.
As a noun, patient is a standard medical and formal register word. It classifies someone according to their relationship with a healthcare system: an outpatient attends appointments without staying overnight; an inpatient is admitted to a ward. In informal speech, people sometimes say "someone at the hospital" or use the person's name, but in professional or written medical contexts patient is always the correct term.
Note that the closely related noun patience is uncountable and refers to the quality itself. Do not confuse the adjective patient with this noun: you say "She is patient" or "She has patience", never "She has patient".
Example Sentences
| Sentence | Level & usage note |
|---|---|
| Be patient — the teacher will help you soon. | A2 — imperative with adjective |
| Be patient with yourself — language learning takes time and consistent effort. | B1 — adjective + prepositional phrase |
| The patient waited quietly in the corridor until the doctor called her name. | B1 — medical noun in narrative context |
| A good teacher remains patient even when the same question is asked repeatedly, understanding that repetition is part of learning. | B2 — extended clause, formal register |
| The ward sister commended the staff for their patient and methodical approach to managing the most critical cases throughout the night shift. | C1 — attributive adjective in formal medical prose |
Collocations
| Collocation | Example |
|---|---|
| be patient | Just be patient — the results will come. |
| remain / stay patient | It is hard to remain patient after a long delay. |
| patient listener | She is a patient listener who never interrupts. |
| patient with someone | He was very patient with the younger students. |
| cancer / heart patient | The clinic specialises in cancer patients. |
| outpatient / inpatient | She was referred as an outpatient for physiotherapy. |
| patient care | Patient care is the hospital's top priority. |
| patient records | All patient records are stored securely online. |
| private patient | He was treated as a private patient at the clinic. |
| patient and persistent | Success requires being both patient and persistent. |
Usage Notes
Adjective vs noun — context is everything. Because the adjective and noun share the same form, you must rely on the sentence structure. "The patient doctor" uses an attributive adjective (doctor who is patient). "The doctor's patient" uses the noun (person being treated).
patient with vs patient for. Use patient with when the object is a person or process: "Be patient with beginners." Use patient for when waiting for a specific thing or event: "We were patient for the announcement." Both are correct but serve different collocational slots.
Register. The adjective is neutral and suits all registers. The noun patient is standard in medical, formal, and professional writing. In informal conversation, "the person" or a name is common, but patient is never wrong.
Common Mistakes
Watch Out For
She has patient. (treating the adjective as a noun)
She has patience. (the noun form for the quality is patience)
I am very patience today. (using the noun where the adjective is needed)
I am very patient today. (adjective after a linking verb)
The doctor treated three patients's records. (incorrect possessive)
The doctor updated three patients' records. (plural possessive: apostrophe after the s)