impatient

impatient — adjective

1. Feeling irritated or upset when you cannot act or move forward as quickly as you

1.adjectiveB1
Definition

Feeling irritated or upset when you cannot act or move forward as quickly as you would like, or when someone keeps making the same mistake — for instance, getting annoyed in a traffic jam or when a colleague repeats an error.

Example

Rohan was impatient with the slow internet connection and kept refreshing the page.

impatient with + noun phrase for the source of frustration

An impatient customer complained loudly when the cashier walked away from the counter.

attributive use: impatient before a noun

Common collocations
  • impatient with
  • impatient at
  • grow impatient
  • become impatient
  • get impatient
  • increasingly impatient
Synonyms
  • irritable

    Describes a general tendency to get annoyed easily, not only in waiting situations

  • restless

    More about physical inability to stay still than about anger; milder in tone

  • short-tempered

    Stronger than impatient; implies angry outbursts rather than just frustration

Antonyms
  • patient

    The direct opposite; able to stay calm while waiting

  • tolerant

    Broader in meaning; accepting of others' mistakes or delays

Grammar Patterns

impatient + with + person/thing

impatient + at + situation/action

become/get/grow + impatient

Usage Note

Frequently followed by with + the person or thing that causes the annoyance. The pattern impatient at + a situation or action is less common but acceptable: 'She was impatient at having to wait so long.'

Common Mistakes

He is impatient about waiting in line.
He is impatient with the long wait.
Use with for the source of annoyance, not about.
My teacher grows impatient from my mistakes.
My teacher grows impatient with my mistakes.
The correct preposition after impatient in this sense is with, not from.

2. Wanting something to begin or arrive without any further delay because you feel

2.adjectiveB1
Definition

Wanting something to begin or arrive without any further delay because you feel excited or keen, and the waiting feels hard to bear — for example, being impatient to hear back about a job offer or to start a holiday trip.

Example

Ari was impatient to open the results and could not sit still during the announcement.

impatient + to-infinitive for eagerness to act

Dahlia grew impatient for the summer break to begin after months of hard work.

impatient for + noun phrase + to-infinitive

Common collocations
  • impatient to
  • impatient for
  • grew impatient to
  • impatient for news
  • impatient for a change
Synonyms
  • eager

    More positive and enthusiastic; less of a sense of frustration

  • anxious

    Carries a note of worry or nervousness that impatient does not have

  • keen

    Suggests strong interest and enthusiasm without any negative tension

Antonyms
  • reluctant

    Unwilling to act; the opposite of wanting something to happen quickly

  • hesitant

    Uncertain about acting; lacking the strong desire that impatient expresses

Grammar Patterns

impatient + to-infinitive

impatient + for + noun

impatient + for + noun + to-infinitive

Usage Note

This sense expresses strong eagerness, not irritation at other people. The two most common patterns are impatient to + infinitive (for actions the subject wants to do) and impatient for + noun (for things or events the subject wants to happen). Distinguish from sense 1: if the focus is on wanting to act or something to begin, this is sense 2; if the focus is on irritation at a delay or someone's behaviour, it is sense 1.

Common Mistakes

She was impatient to see her friend' (meaning she was rude).
She was impatient to see her friend' (meaning she was eager, in a positive way).
This sentence structure (impatient + to-infinitive) expresses eagerness, not rudeness; the context determines whether it is positive or negative.
I am impatient for we go home.
I am impatient to go home.
Use the to-infinitive pattern, not for + clause.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

Impatient focuses on frustration specifically from delay or repeated mistakes — it is situation-triggered rather than a personality trait. Irritable describes a general mood of being easily annoyed, often from tiredness or discomfort, and does not require a waiting context. Restless is more physical: an inability to stay still or concentrate, with less emotional charge than impatient. Short-tempered is stronger and more negative — it means a person quickly becomes angry, not just frustrated. For example, a restless traveller might pace the airport, while a short-tempered traveller would snap at the staff. An impatient traveller would keep checking the gate and sigh heavily.

irritable ↗restless ↗short-tempered

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • visibly impatient
  • increasingly impatient
  • somewhat impatient
  • clearly impatient

Phrases

  • impatient to leave
  • impatient for a change
  • impatient with the delay

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Impatient comes from Latin impatient-em (meaning 'not bearing, not enduring'), made up of the prefix in- ('not') and patiens ('bearing, suffering, enduring'), which is also the root of patience and patient. The word entered English through Old French in the late 1300s, originally carrying the sense of being unable to endure hardship or delay.