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forbearance

forbearance

11 8.4
Patience and control when people annoy you or owe you money
  • noun
  • /fɔrˈbɛr.əns/
  • Specialized
translation icon : paciencia
  • The teacher showed great forbearance when the students made mistakes during the exam.
  • forbearance and love

So in short, expect extended forbearance, expect more stimulus.

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Examples

  • The Taos people treated them with forbearance, keeping them outside of everything important and bearing with their stupidities.

    Academic text (1998)
  • I wish you could have heard her honour your forbearance in putting up with her... when her society is so irksome!

  • I appreciate your forbearance and I will see you next time.

  • This act tries the forbearance of good Christian men.

  • Gentlemen, might I urge a little forbearance?

  • I pride myself on being a man of forbearance and conciliation.

  • My wife has great forbearance, and we still have jolly times.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • I am looking for a young woman of prudence, forbearance, and firmness.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • For years he practiced meditation, contemplation, and forbearance, yet he could not gain enlightenment.

    Blog text (5)
  • And help us, in the midst of our struggles... to confront one another, without hatred and bitterness... and to work together... with forbearance and respect through Jesus Christ... our Lord and Saviour.

Synonyms

patience
vsforbearance
511 1.3

To stay calm and not get annoyed when things take time

stresses self-control under provocation and not enforcing a right
lenience
vsforbearance
1 6.0

To be kind when judging or punishing people

focuses on personal restraint and withholding enforcement rather than mercy
longanimity
vsforbearance
  • Formal
9.9

Patient acceptance of trouble or unfair treatment without anger

is about self-control when provoked and choosing not to enforce a right

Antonyms

50 4.6

Not willing to accept small annoyances or people with different views

38 2.5

A feeling of being annoyed and restless when you have to wait

How Patient

forbearance
  • Specialized
11 8.4
leniency
26 4.6
tolerance
160 3.7
impatience
38 2.5

Surface Forms

forbearance singular
forbearances plural

Morphology

forbearance = forbear (semi-transparent) = forbear + ance

Formed regularly from the verb 'forbear' + '-ance', but 'forbear' is relatively uncommon and may be confused with 'bear' or 'forebear', reducing immediate recognizability.

Etymology

Forbearance comes from the old English verb forbear, made of for- and bear, where bear means 'to endure' and for- adds the idea of 'holding back'. So forbearance is literally patient 'holding back' or 'enduring' something without acting, which is why it means being patient and choosing not to enforce a right.