When you're impatient, you don't want to wait. You want something to happen right now, and every second of waiting feels like forever. An impatient person might tap their foot while standing in line, keep asking “Are we there yet?” on a long car trip, or refresh their email over and over while waiting for an important message.

Impatience is that restless, antsy feeling when time seems to crawl. You might feel impatient waiting for your birthday, for the final bell at school, or for cookies to finish baking. Sometimes you have good reasons to be impatient: maybe you're genuinely running late, or someone promised you something and keeps delaying. Other times, you're just eager for something you want.

The opposite of impatient is patient, which means you can wait calmly without getting frustrated. Being patient is often harder than it sounds, especially when you're excited about something or when waiting feels pointless. But impatience can make waiting feel even longer and can frustrate the people around you. Recognizing when you're being impatient can help you decide whether to speak up about a real problem or find something else to focus on while you wait.