tolerance

American  

[tol-er-uhns] / ˈtɒl ər əns /

noun

1. a fair, respectful, and permissive attitude or policy toward people whose opinions, beliefs, practices, racial or ethnic origins, etc., differ from one’s own or from those of the majority; freedom from bigotry and from an insistence on conformity.

   In this multiracial, multicultural school, students are taught tolerance and respect for those different from themselves.

   Recent changes in the country’s legislation show greater tolerance for religious diversity.

   Synonyms:

   impartiality, liberality

2. interest in, concern for, and openness toward ideas, opinions, practices, etc., that are different from one’s own; a liberal, undogmatic attitude.

   Tolerance presupposes taking the other's perspective, not just being aware of it.

   Mine is a job that rewards curiosity and tolerance—an exploratory spirit with respect to new ideas.

3. the act or capacity of enduring; endurance.

   I have a very low tolerance for noise and excitement.

   Of course pain is subjective, because everyone has their own level of pain tolerance.

   Synonyms:

   forbearance, patience

4. the act of passively allowing something, especially something wrong, by failing to prevent or stop it; toleration.

   There will be no tolerance of abusive language in this workplace.

5. Medicine/Medical, Immunology, Biology.

   1. the power of enduring or resisting the action of a drug, poison, pollutant, or biological stressor, as in

      Patients exhibiting morphine tolerance require higher doses over time in order to achieve the same pain relief.

      The project aims to develop a variety of sorghum with superior drought and salinity tolerance.

   2. the lack of or low levels of immune response to transplanted tissue or other foreign substance that is normally immunogenic.

      The lab studies the fundamental mechanisms of transplant rejection and transplant tolerance, with a goal to help patients avoid the need for lifelong immunosuppressive drugs.

6. Machinery.

   1. the permissible range of variation in a dimension of an object.

   2. the permissible variation of an object or objects in some characteristic such as hardness, weight, or quantity.

7. Also called allowance.  Coining. a permissible deviation in the fineness and weight of coin, owing to the difficulty of securing exact conformity to the standard prescribed by law.

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tolerance British  

/ ˈtɒlərəns /

noun

1. the state or quality of being tolerant

2. capacity to endure something, esp pain or hardship

3. the permitted variation in some measurement or other characteristic of an object or workpiece

4. physiol the capacity of an organism to endure the effects of a poison or other substance, esp after it has been taken over a prolonged period

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Related Words

Tolerance , toleration agree in allowing the right of something that one does not approve. Tolerance suggests a liberal spirit toward the views and actions of others: tolerance toward religious minorities. Toleration implies the allowance or sufferance of conduct with which one is not in accord: toleration of graft.

Other Word Forms

• nontolerance noun
• overtolerance noun

Etymology

Origin of tolerance

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English tol(l)eraunce, from Old French tol(l)erance, from Medieval Latin tollerantia, from Latin tolerantia; tolerant, -ance

Explanation

When you practice tolerance, you accept another's ideas and beliefs. If you respect someone's opinions — even if you disagree or find them nonsensical — you display tolerance. The noun tolerance, which stems from the Latin for "endurance," also refers to an organism's ability to stand or handle a difficult environmental condition. If you build up a tolerance, you can handle large amounts of something (from medicine to psychological abuse) without being too strongly affected. We usually use the word to refer to our need to accept others, as suggested by John F. Kennedy when he said, “Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one's own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.”

Example Sentences

From that point on, a zero tolerance approach was adopted.

From BBC • Apr. 14, 2026

"These findings could be highly significant for plant cultivation. If we can control adhesion, it may be possible to breed plants with improved tolerance to environmental stress."

From Science Daily • Apr. 13, 2026

“Investors with an above-average level of risk tolerance should consider buying growth here,” Colas said.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026

But he acknowledged that “over time you develop less tolerance for squalor.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026

Imagine if there were 150 Rosa Parks standing up for tolerance, what a difference we would make.

From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers

Related Words

• patience
• resilience
• resistance
• strength
• toughness