tolerant

American  

[tol-er-uhnt] / ˈtɒl ər ənt /

adjective

1. inclined or disposed to tolerate; showing tolerance; forbearing.

   tolerant of errors.

2. favoring toleration.

   a tolerant church.

3. Medicine/Medical, Immunology.

   1. able to endure or resist the action of a drug, poison, etc.

   2. lacking or exhibiting low levels of immune response to a normally immunogenic substance.

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tolerant British  

/ ˈtɒlərənt /

adjective

1. able to tolerate the beliefs, actions, opinions, etc, of others

2. permissive

3. able to withstand extremes, as of heat and cold

4. med (of a patient) exhibiting tolerance to a drug

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Other Word Forms

• nontolerant adjective
• nontolerantly adverb
• overtolerant adjective
• overtolerantly adverb
• quasi-tolerant adjective
• quasi-tolerantly adverb
• self-tolerant adjective
• self-tolerantly adverb
• tolerantly adverb

Etymology

Origin of tolerant

First recorded in 1770–80; from Latin tolerant-, stem of tolerāns “bearing,” present participle of tolerāre “to bear”; tolerate

Example Sentences

Being bilingual can make you more tolerant and compassionate and broaden your perspective.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

“The U.S. energy business is going to have to get more risk tolerant and spread their wings outside the U.S.”

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

They were sympathetic to the concept—this was a liberal neighborhood, after all—and they were trying to be tolerant.

From Slate • Mar. 25, 2026

Importantly, the resonances remained stable even when the geometry was not perfectly optimized, showing that the design is tolerant of fabrication imperfections.

From Science Daily • Mar. 24, 2026

Apparently the adult mosquitoes had become sufficiently tolerant of DDT to escape from sprayed buildings and rest and recover in the open.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

• forgiving
• humane
• lenient
• liberal
• permissive
• progressive
• receptive
• sympathetic