tolerable
Americanadjective
-
capable of being tolerated; endurable.
His arrogance is no longer tolerable.
- Synonyms:
- supportable, bearable
-
fairly good; not bad.
- Synonyms:
- so-so, indifferent, middling, passable
-
Informal. in fair health.
adjective
-
able to be tolerated; endurable
-
permissible
-
informal fairly good
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of tolerable
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin tolerābilis, equivalent to tolerā ( re ) to endure + -bilis -ble
Explanation
Something that's tolerable is something you're able to live with. The best thing you can say about sleeping in a tent with your younger siblings might be that it's tolerable. If you can tolerate something, or put up with it, it's tolerable. You can also use this adjective to mean "good enough" or "adequate." If your waiter asks how your meal is and you answer, "The pizza is tolerable," you're not giving a rave review; you're basically saying, "It's average" or "It's edible, but nothing special." Tolerable comes from the Latin tolerabilis, "that may be endured."
Vocabulary lists containing tolerable
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Vocabulary from "Stop Expecting Games to Build Empathy" by Julie Muncy
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Farewell to Manzanar
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
His claim was that a child needs the parent to fail in small, tolerable ways.
From Slate ● Aug. 11, 2026
High valuations and volatility are tolerable if funded by long-term equity capital — not borrowed money that must be serviced and repaid.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
United States manager Mauricio Pochettino said he did not like the breaks during his side's 4-1 win against Paraguay, adding they were "unnecessary" when conditions were tolerable.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
That was tolerable when officials thought the Iran war would resolve quickly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
After that the noise level dropped to tolerable.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
