patientnoun [ C ]
uk/ˈpeɪ.ʃənt/us/ˈpeɪ.ʃənt/B1 a person who is receiving medical care, or who is cared for by a particular doctor or dentist when necessary:
I'm a patient of Dr Stephens; please could I make an appointment to see her?
More examples
- The patient had surgery on his heart.
- A number of patients have been successfully treated with the new drug.
- There has been no significant change in the patient's condition.
- He has helped patients suffering from anxiety, depression, and eating disorders.
- This practice is responsible for about five thousand patients in this part of Leeds.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Medical treatment: people who receive medical treatment
- admission
- asthmatic
- case
- casualty
- convalescent
- day patient
- donor
- dying
- epileptic
- geriatric
- injured
- inpatient
- invalid 1
- outpatient
- PWA
- sick
- sufferer
- under
- victim
- wounded
patientadjective
uk/ˈpeɪ.ʃənt/us/ˈpeɪ.ʃənt/B1 having patience:
Dinner will be ready in half an hour - just be patient!
Be patient with her - she's very young.
Opposite
impatient
More examples
- He's very patient with small children.
- I could never be a teacher, I'm just not patient enough.
- If you could just be patient for a few more minutes, someone will be with you shortly.
- Be patient - it's your turn next!
- I'm sure we'll hear something soon, you'll just have to be patient.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Patient and uncomplaining
- dove
- equable
- equanimity
- even-tempered
- forbearing
- have the patience of a saint idiom
- long-suffering
- pacific
- patience
- peace-loving
- peaceable
- stoic
- stoicism
- the patience of Job idiom
- uncomplaining
patiently
adverb uk/ˈpeɪ.ʃənt.li/us/ˈpeɪ.ʃənt.li/
B2
There was a queue of people waiting patiently for the bus to arrive.