impatient

adjective

im·​pa·​tient (ˌ)im-ˈpā-shənt 

1

a

: not patient : restless or short of temper especially under irritation, delay, or opposition

b

: intolerant sense 1

impatient of delay

2

: prompted or marked by impatience

an impatient reply

3

: eagerly desirous : anxious

impatient to get home

impatiently adverb

Synonyms

• agog
• antsy
• anxious
• ardent
• athirst
• avid
• crazy
• desirous
• eager
• enthused
• enthusiastic
• excited
• geeked [slang]
• great
• greedy
• gung ho
• hepped up
• hopped-up
• hot
• hungry
• juiced
• keen
• nuts
• pumped
• raring
• solicitous
• stoked [slang]
• thirsty
• voracious
• wild

Examples of impatient in a Sentence

After months of delays, customers are becoming impatient.

Customers have grown impatient with the repeated delays.

“Aren't you ready yet?” “Don't be so impatient. There's no need to hurry.”

She was impatient to leave.

Recent Examples on the Web

But investors have since grown impatient for concrete details. —Yue Wang, Forbes, 12 Oct. 2024

That plot, with a fee of $300,000, was also monitored by the FBI, which captured weeks of communication between a go-between and an increasingly impatient handler in Tehran. —Karl Vick, TIME, 23 Sep. 2024

Too impatient to get dressed, my mother opened an umbrella and left the house in her nightclothes. —Yukio Mishima, The New Yorker, 27 Oct. 2024

Simply put, manufacturers are getting impatient for tangible results, and some of the excitement that once existed about AI’s disruptive potential is now veiled by performance issues, slow adoption rates and pushed project timelines. —Bill Rokos, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English impacient, from Anglo-French impacient, from Latin impatient-, impatiens, from in- + patient-, patiens patient

First Known Use

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

Kids Definition

impatient

adjective

im·​pa·​tient (ˈ)im-ˈpā-shənt 

1

: not patient

an impatient disposition

2

: showing or coming from impatience

an impatient answer

3

: restless and eager

impatient to get going

impatiently adverb