tolerate
Americanverb (used with object)
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tolerates,
present (3rd person singular)
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tolerated,
past participle, past
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tolerating
present participle
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to allow the existence, presence, practice, or act of without prohibition or hindrance; permit.
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to endure without repugnance; put up with.
I can tolerate laziness, but not incompetence.
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Medicine/Medical. to endure or resist the action of (a drug, poison, etc.).
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Obsolete. to experience, undergo, or sustain, as pain or hardship.
verb
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to treat with indulgence, liberality, or forbearance
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to permit
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to be able to bear; put up with
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med to have tolerance for (a drug, poison, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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toleratornoun
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nontoleratedadjective
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nontolerativeadjective
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tolerativeadjective
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untoleratedadjective
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untoleratingadjective
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untolerativeadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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toleratesimple
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toleratessimple
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have toleratedperfect
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has toleratedperfect
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am toleratingprogressive
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are toleratingprogressive
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is toleratingprogressive
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have been toleratingperfect progressive
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has been toleratingperfect progressive
Past
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toleratedsimple
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had toleratedperfect
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was toleratingprogressive
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were toleratingprogressive
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had been toleratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tolerate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin tolerātus “borne,” past participle of tolerāre “to bear”; akin to thole 2
Explanation
The verb tolerate means "to put up with or allow." You can tolerate your sister's love of Broadway musicals but really, you prefer dramas. Think of tolerate as the open-minded verb. It means you allow something to happen or exist, even if you don't really like it. For example, you don't like your neighbor's loud music but you tolerate because he only blasts it on Saturday afternoons. Scientifically speaking, when your body can tolerate a drug, poison or even pollution, it means you aren't harmed by it.
Vocabulary lists containing tolerate
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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.
See Examples For:
The comfort and springy design may allow athletes to tolerate higher training volumes or intensities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Mathias Clasen, the author of A Very Nervous Person’s Guide to Horror Movies, explains how jumpscares work, and how you can learn to love them—or at least tolerate them.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
That’s a loss most other restaurants wouldn’t tolerate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has told Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi that the UK will "not tolerate intimidation, threats or hostile activity on UK soil".
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Emma’s only surprize was that Jane Fairfax should accept those attentions and tolerate Mrs. Elton as she seemed to do.
From "Emma" by Jane Austen
Justice John Marshall Harlan was the only dissenter: “Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
Building a resilient portfolio that tolerates inflation is a good start.
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
“We are not a nation that tramples the 4th Amendment and tolerates our neighbors being terrorized,” he said.
From Salon ● Jan. 29, 2026
In Hecox, it may resolve the case on mootness grounds or reaffirm that intermediate scrutiny tolerates generalizations even when they imperfectly fit at the margins.
From Slate ● Jan. 14, 2026
The subsidiary reason is that the Party member, like the proletarian, tolerates present-day conditions partly because he has no standards of comparison.
From "1984" by George Orwell
"Actions blocking major roads or large, essential facilities will not be tolerated," the official said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Yogurt is generally tolerated better than other dairy, particularly Greek yogurt or yogurts rich in probiotic bacteria, says Sibley.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Gen. Harmeet Dhillon said the campus had tolerated an “appalling hostile educational environment” for Jewish and Israeli students.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
The drug was generally well tolerated, and the critically ill patients in the trial lived longer than patients receiving standard treatments.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
Bobby had tolerated Tal’s stare when they first met over the board in Portorož.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
Executives were presented with a menu of options ranging from temporary shutdowns for repairs while essentially tolerating ongoing oil theft, to halting production for years to fully tackle the problem.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
In a nation fed up with leaders seen as tolerating or colluding with organized crime, Manzo, 40, stood out.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien's clip went viral and triggered a backlash that led to his arrest in Singapore, which has a reputation for not tolerating bad behaviour.
From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026
Mohammad Ali Kadivar, an Iranian associate professor of sociology and international studies at Boston College, said these two camps appear to be tolerating each other as they face a shared opponent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 28, 2026
Though he was sometimes forward and forceful with some of his neighbors, he mostly operated as if the town were just barely tolerating our presence.
From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
