intolerant
Americanadjective
-
not tolerating or respecting beliefs, opinions, usages, manners, etc., different from one's own, as in political or religious matters; bigoted.
- Synonyms:
- totalitarian, dictatorial, biased, prejudiced, proscriptive, narrow, illiberal
- Antonyms:
- liberal
-
unable or unwilling to tolerate or endure (usually followed byof ).
intolerant of very hot weather.
-
unable to fully digest or absorb a specified food or drug (used postpositively or in combination).
lactose intolerant; aspirin-intolerant.
noun
adjective
-
lacking respect for practices and beliefs other than one's own
-
not able or willing to tolerate or endure
intolerant of noise
Synonym Usage
Intolerant, fanatical, bigoted refer to strongly illiberal attitudes. Intolerant refers to an active refusal to allow others to have or put into practice beliefs different from one's own: intolerant in politics; intolerant of other customs. Bigoted is to be so emotionally or subjectively attached to one's own belief as to be hostile to all others: a bigoted person. Fanatical applies to unreasonable or extreme action in maintaining one's beliefs and practices without necessary reference to others: a fanatical religious sect.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of intolerant
1725–35; < Latin intolerant- (stem of intolerāns ) impatient. See in- 3, tolerant
Explanation
When you're intolerant, you can't or won't put up with something. Usually, that means you're not very open-minded. Being intolerant can mean you have a medical condition, like lactose intolerant people who can't eat dairy products. But more often being intolerant means you're unwilling to tolerate other ideas, opinions, beliefs or cultures. Homophobic people are intolerant of gay people. Sexist people are intolerant of women. Racist people are intolerant of people from other races. So it's safe to say intolerant people aren't the friendliest folks.
Vocabulary lists containing intolerant
Speak
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A Mighty Long Way
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Frightful's Mountain
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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.
That may include a lot of intolerant Ohioans—but it will also, pointedly, include his own skinfolk.
From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2026
I started wondering whether I was lactose intolerant after several weeks of stomach issues following a trip to Ecuador.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
People are intolerant, and they just don’t change.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
"We found that these contributions are widespread throughout the genome, and ghost ancestry is detected even in regions previously thought to be intolerant of Neanderthal and Denisovan ancestry."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
“You should try one, Frank. You’re lactose intolerant, aren’t you?”
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
