tolerable

[ tol-er-uh-buhl ]

/ ˈtɒl ər ə bəl /

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See synonyms for: tolerable / tolerableness / tolerably on Thesaurus.com

adjective

capable of being tolerated; endurable: His arrogance is no longer tolerable.

fairly good; not bad.

Informal. in fair health.

OTHER WORDS FOR tolerable

1 bearable, supportable.

2 passable, middling, indifferent, so-so.

See synonyms for tolerable on Thesaurus.com

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“Was” is used for the indicative past tense of “to be,” and “were” is only used for the subjunctive past tense.

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Origin of tolerable

1375–1425; late Middle English <Latin tolerābilis, equivalent to tolerā(re) to endure + -bilis-ble

OTHER WORDS FROM tolerable

tol·er·a·ble·ness, tol·er·a·bil·i·ty, nountol·er·a·bly, adverbnon·tol·er·a·ble, adjectivenon·tol·er·a·ble·ness, noun

non·tol·er·a·bly, adverbun·tol·er·a·ble, adjectiveun·tol·er·a·ble·ness, nounun·tol·er·a·bly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use tolerable in a sentence

Who could suppose that two tolerably civilized nations would endure this in the middle of 1851?
Glances at Europe|Horace Greeley
What was equally important, a thick clump of cottonwood and willow furnished tolerably secure concealment.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
The coffee-trees stand in rows upon tolerably steep hillocks.
A Woman's Journey Round the World|Ida Pfeiffer
It is tolerably certain that this is a corrupt form of the passage, and only makes the matter darker.
Chaucer's Works, Volume 1 (of 7) -- Romaunt of the Rose; Minor Poems|Geoffrey Chaucer

The streets, as I have already mentioned, are tolerably lively: peculiar omnibuses and cabriolets traverse them frequently.
A Woman's Journey Round the World|Ida Pfeiffer

British Dictionary definitions for tolerable

tolerable

/ (ˈtɒlərəbəl) /

adjective

able to be tolerated; endurable

permissible

informal fairly good

Derived forms of tolerable

tolerableness or tolerability, nountolerably, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

tolerable

OTHER WORDS FOR tolerable

Origin of tolerable

OTHER WORDS FROM tolerable

Words related to tolerable

How to use tolerable in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for tolerable

Derived forms of tolerable