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Prepositions after adjectives

impatient with vs. impatient for

Impatient with refers to annoyance with people or situations. Impatient for refers to eagerness for something to happen.

Quick answer

Choosing the right preposition

Use impatient with for frustration toward a person, behaviour, or delay. Use impatient for when waiting eagerly for an event or change.

She became impatient with the slow service.
The children were impatient for the holidays.
He grew impatient with repeated mistakes.

Choose the pattern by meaning

These forms are not interchangeable. Choose the construction by meaning, not by which preposition appears most often.

1
impatient with + person/thing

Annoyance or frustration

The standard pattern for irritation.

I'm impatient with unnecessary delays.
2
impatient for + event/result

Eager expectation

Used when waiting eagerly for something desired.

They were impatient for the results.

See the difference in context

The same subject can take different constructions because each sentence answers a different question.

Construction
Example
Meaning
impatient with
She is impatient with her team.
Annoyed by people or situations.
impatient for
We are impatient for change.
Eagerly wanting something to happen.
impatient to + verb
He was impatient to leave.
Common alternative before an action.

Common mistakes

Some combinations appear in real text but do not mean what learners often assume.

Using impatient with for desired events

For is better when expressing eager expectation.

✕ impatient with the weekend ✓ impatient for the weekend

Using impatient for a person's behaviour

With is used for annoyance toward people or actions.

✓ impatient with noisy customers

Quick practice

Choose the expression that matches the intended meaning.

1. She is impatient ___ the constant interruptions.
2. The fans are impatient ___ the new season.
3. He was impatient ___ start the project.

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Frequently asked questions

Can impatient for sound formal?

Yes. It is slightly more formal than impatient to see or eager for.

Is impatient with always negative?

Usually yes, because it suggests irritation or frustration.

Can I use impatient about?

It is uncommon. English normally uses with, for, or to after impatient.

ideal-for-in-as-at, from "identical to" or "identical with"? identifiable by, as, with, in or to? "idle for" or "idle in"? ignorant of, about, to, in or on? "illegal in" or "illegal for"? illustrative of, in, rather or for? ill with, in, for, at or of? "immune to" or "immune from"? "imperative for" or "imperative to"? impervious to, from or in? implicit in, to, within, from or rather?

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