Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell patience

What it means: The ability to wait without frustration.

In a sentence: Patience means waiting calmly for your turn on the swing. ▶

The part people get wrong

Watch for an unstressed vowel that is hard to hear, and the order of ie. Often misspelled as patients or paitience.

Sounds like, but is not: patients. Same sound, different spelling and meaning.

Same family: patiently, impatient, impatience, tolerance, perseverance. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Patience” comes from the Latin verb *pati*, meaning “to suffer” or “to endure,” so the word originally carried the idea of calmly enduring pain or difficulty. It is closely related to “patient,” which can mean someone receiving medical care or someone who is calm and tolerant.

Patterns it uses: The unstressed vowel (schwa)

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

Words like this

evidence · principle · indicate · peace · compliment · reference · influence · tail

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