Patients or Patience: Which Word Do You Need?

There are a lot of similar and confusing words in the English language, and you’ll often find patients and patience among them. In this post, we will look at the difference between the two.

Patient and Patients

These words create a challenge because patients and patience are homophones. That means they sound the same when spoken aloud. Their written forms are what distinguish one word from the other. Within that distinction we also find they have separate meanings that are determined through context.

As a noun, the word patient is usually someone who is visiting a medical professional. You might see it in a sentence such as a doctor should be kind to her patient.

The plural form of patient is patients. You would be correct in writing something such as the surgeon typically sees no more than three patients in one day. In this instance, we clearly need and thus use the plural form of patient.

The Other Meaning of Patient

Patient has another meaning as well. As an adjective, it describes a person who is comfortable waiting or who isn’t in a rush: The customer service representative was patient while I described my problem.

That brings us to patience, which is simply the noun form of that easy-going quality. In these cases, patience is something you have or exercise. You are capable of waiting or enduring without being bothered by it.

Let’s look at some correct uses of patient and patience in a sentence:

Jerry had to exercise a great deal of patience while sitting in rush-hour traffic.

We should always be patient with children who are trying to learn.

I thought I was patient, but I didn’t have the patience to master the violin.

  

Pop Quiz

Fill in the blanks below with patient, patients, or patience according to the context.

1. A wise man once said that _____ is a skill, like physical fitness, that you build up over time.

2. I know my doctor is popular because she always has a waiting room full of _____.

3. Can you imagine the _____ it must take to raise triplets as a stay-at-home mom?

4. Becoming a good teacher is a matter of developing _____ and knowing the subject thoroughly.

5. My dentist has a special rate for new _____ who schedule a cleaning this month.

    

Pop Quiz Answers

1. A wise man once said that patience is a skill, like physical fitness, that you build up over time.

2. I know my doctor is popular because she always has a waiting room full of patients.

3. Can you imagine the patience it must take to raise triplets as a stay-at-home mom?

4. Becoming a good teacher is a matter of developing patience and knowing the subject thoroughly.

5. My dentist has a special rate for new patients who schedule a cleaning this month.

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