tolerate
Americanverb (used with object)
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tolerates,
present (3rd person singular)
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tolerated,
past participle, past
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tolerating
present participle
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to allow the existence, presence, practice, or act of without prohibition or hindrance; permit.
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to endure without repugnance; put up with.
I can tolerate laziness, but not incompetence.
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Medicine/Medical. to endure or resist the action of (a drug, poison, etc.).
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Obsolete. to experience, undergo, or sustain, as pain or hardship.
verb
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to treat with indulgence, liberality, or forbearance
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to permit
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to be able to bear; put up with
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med to have tolerance for (a drug, poison, etc)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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toleratornoun
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nontoleratedadjective
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nontolerativeadjective
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tolerativeadjective
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untoleratedadjective
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untoleratingadjective
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untolerativeadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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toleratesimple
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toleratessimple
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have toleratedperfect
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has toleratedperfect
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am toleratingprogressive
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are toleratingprogressive
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is toleratingprogressive
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have been toleratingperfect progressive
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has been toleratingperfect progressive
Past
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toleratedsimple
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had toleratedperfect
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was toleratingprogressive
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were toleratingprogressive
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had been toleratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tolerate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin tolerātus “borne,” past participle of tolerāre “to bear”; akin to thole 2
Explanation
The verb tolerate means "to put up with or allow." You can tolerate your sister's love of Broadway musicals but really, you prefer dramas. Think of tolerate as the open-minded verb. It means you allow something to happen or exist, even if you don't really like it. For example, you don't like your neighbor's loud music but you tolerate because he only blasts it on Saturday afternoons. Scientifically speaking, when your body can tolerate a drug, poison or even pollution, it means you aren't harmed by it.
Vocabulary lists containing tolerate
Bud, Not Buddy
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The Watsons Go to Birmingham
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List 5
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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.
See Examples For:
Mathias Clasen, the author of A Very Nervous Person’s Guide to Horror Movies, explains how jumpscares work, and how you can learn to love them—or at least tolerate them.
From Slate ● Oct. 8, 2026
That’s a loss most other restaurants wouldn’t tolerate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband has told Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi that the UK will "not tolerate intimidation, threats or hostile activity on UK soil".
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Without concrete steps to tolerate more intellectual diversity, insist on free inquiry and provide real value for money, universities will remain in minimum high regard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
“Marlena would never tolerate meat on board with her horses.”
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Justice John Marshall Harlan was the only dissenter: “Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
Building a resilient portfolio that tolerates inflation is a good start.
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
In Hecox, it may resolve the case on mootness grounds or reaffirm that intermediate scrutiny tolerates generalizations even when they imperfectly fit at the margins.
From Slate ● Jan. 14, 2026
MIT engineers have created a new aluminum alloy that can be 3D printed, tolerates extreme heat, and reaches strength levels far beyond conventional aluminum.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 29, 2025
The subsidiary reason is that the Party member, like the proletarian, tolerates present-day conditions partly because he has no standards of comparison.
From "1984" by George Orwell
Yogurt is generally tolerated better than other dairy, particularly Greek yogurt or yogurts rich in probiotic bacteria, says Sibley.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
The drug was also generally well tolerated during the trials.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
Hayley Lugos said that she’s happy to see the video go viral, noting that she hopes it spreads a message that racism will not be tolerated.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
"Such behavior should not be tolerated in the civilized world," Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo said in a statement, thanking US judicial authorities for "their assistance and protection of our citizens."
From Barron's ● Oct. 5, 2026
Neither of the two cops nor the Forest Service people nor Jerry G. would have tolerated Shorty either.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
But just remember, tolerating a little heat is always part of owning stocks.
From Barron's ● Jun. 5, 2026
In a nation fed up with leaders seen as tolerating or colluding with organized crime, Manzo, 40, stood out.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
Off-the-field incidents involving a number, external of , externalplayers, external who subsequently remained on the team, has also tested belief in the All Blacks' famed policy of not tolerating poor behaviour.
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2026
He argues that “allowing, or at least tolerating, sneaky double-dipping,” can sometimes improve outcomes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 2026
In fact, Danes have more in common with Jamaicans when it comes to tolerating ambiguity than they do with some of their European peers.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions 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.
