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.
Tolerable side effects will be key because people who take orforglipron or retatrutide are likely to regain the lost weight if they ever stop taking the drugs.
From Scientific American • Jul. 5, 2023
Tolerable levels are set well below the levels considered to pose health risks, and take into account average exposure from all sources, not just from a single food.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 27, 2023
"Tolerable" was the word John McCarthy carefully chose to describe living conditions during his most recent months as a hostage in Lebanon.
From Time Magazine Archive
Inland it is pretty high and hilly, but near the Shore it is low; to the Southward of the Point the land is low, and Tolerable level.
From Captain Cook's Journal During the First Voyage Round the World by Cook, James
At the Entrance lay 3 Small Islands, 2 of which are of a Tolerable height, and on the Main, near the shore, are some high round hills that make at a distance like Islands.
From Captain Cook's Journal During the First Voyage Round the World by Cook, James
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.
