impatient

/ɪmˈpeɪʃənt/

//ɪmˈpeɪʃənt// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"impatient" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“impatient” has 13 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #13,933. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#13,933
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
13
tracked misspellings
4
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Restless, short of temper, and intolerant of delays.

Corpus desk

Index EN-impatient · impatient · English

impatient · rank #13,933 · 13 variants · 4 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #13,933
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 4 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 13 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH impairment

Nearest frequency peer: impairment (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “impatient”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “impatient” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

impatient vs impotent
78% similar
impatient vs inpatient
89% similar
impatient vs impatiently
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for impatient
PropertyValue
Headwordimpatient
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ɪmˈpeɪʃənt/
Letters9
Frequency rank#13,933
Misspellings tracked13
Confusable pairs4
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “impatient”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).impatientlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “impairment” (#13,932), “IC” (#13,931), “Indy” (#13,935). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “impatient” is #13,933. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 13 spelling variants around impatient (IPA /ɪmˈpeɪʃənt/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #13,933 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for impatient, with forms such as "imaptient", "immpatient", and "impaitent". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 4 confusable-pair relationships, "impotent", "inpatient", "impatiently", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Old French impacient (modern French impatient), from Latin impatiēns. By surface analysis, im- + patient. The correct English form is impatient, spelled I-M-P-A-T-I-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Restless, short of temper, and intolerant of delays.
  2. 2
    Anxious and eager, especially to begin or have something.
  3. 3
    Not to be borne; unendurable.
  4. 4
    Prompted by, or exhibiting, impatience.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how impatient appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. She dances when she becomes impatient.
  2. The impatient man will not give himself time to be informed of the matter that lies before him.

Etymology

From Old French impacient (modern French impatient), from Latin impatiēns. By surface analysis, im- + patient.

This word in other languages

impaciente(Español)impatient(Français)ungeduldig(Deutsch)impaciente(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • imaptient
  • immpatient
  • impaitent
  • impateint
  • impatiennt
  • impatientt
  • impatietn
  • impatinet
  • impattient
  • imppatient
  • imptaient
  • ipmatient
  • mipatient

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of impatient - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

imaptient2immpatient1impaitent2impateint2impatiennt1impatientt1impatietn2impatinet2
Edit distance from "impatient"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "impatient"?
"impatient" is spelled I-M-P-A-T-I-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /ɪmˈpeɪʃənt/.
What does "impatient" mean?
As an adjective, "impatient" means: Restless, short of temper, and intolerant of delays.
What words are commonly confused with "impatient"?
"impatient" is commonly confused with "impotent", "inpatient", "impatiently". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "impatient"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "impatient" is /ɪmˈpeɪʃənt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "impatient"?
From Old French impacient (modern French impatient), from Latin impatiēns. By surface analysis, im- + patient. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "impatient", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

insisting#13,936intricate#13,937longevity#13,949luxurious#13,952

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (13 here; floor ≥5).

gangster13 variantsfragment13 variantsmeltdown13 variantsdrifting13 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list