tolerate
Americanverb (used with object)
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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
- nontolerated adjective
- nontolerative adjective
- tolerative adjective
- tolerator noun
- untolerated adjective
- untolerating adjective
- untolerative adjective
Etymology
Origin of tolerate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin tolerātus “borne,” past participle of tolerāre “to bear”; akin to thole 2
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.
"The better bacteria tolerate an antibiotic, the lower the chances of therapeutic success are for the patients," says Lucas Boeck.
From Science Daily
Responding to the figures, the health minister said attacks would not be tolerated and a framework was launched in 2023 to help tackle the issue.
From BBC
Either way, now that I had awakened to the disease, I decided to tolerate it no longer.
Criticism of the regime is not tolerated and personal freedoms have been heavily restricted.
From BBC
They say they can no longer tolerate catering Jewish community fundraisers and “events such as the Great Nosh,” the city-wide Jewish food festival.
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.
