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”; see tolerate

Explanation

If you're tolerant it means that you accept people who are unlike you or put up with stuff you don't like. If you let your roommate play the same awful '80s mix over and over and don't say anything, you're probably a very tolerant person. Broad-minded and open thinking is a hallmark of tolerant behavior. An individual can be tolerant, and so can a community or a nation if it accepts people from lots of different cultures or backgrounds. We generally think of tolerance as a good thing, but that doesn't mean being tolerant is easy — not with so many family members, classmates, and colleagues around to annoy us.

Example Sentences

The dose is gradually increased over time to help the immune system become more tolerant.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

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

Their bodies would also become less tolerant of heat and cold, for Libra would not experience the extremes of temperature that we find in Alaskan winters or Arizona summers.

From "Flying to the Moon: An Astronaut's Story" by Michael Collins

Related Words

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