intolerance
Americannoun
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lack of tolerance; unwillingness or refusal to tolerate or respect opinions or beliefs contrary to one's own.
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unwillingness or refusal to tolerate or respect persons of a different social group, especially members of a minority group.
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incapacity or indisposition to bear or endure.
intolerance to heat.
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abnormal sensitivity or allergy to a food, drug, etc.
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an intolerant act.
Etymology
Origin of intolerance
From the Latin word intolerantia, dating back to 1755–65. See intolerant, -ance
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.
His blind sides—inability to understand the limits of Japan’s resources, intolerance of criticism, confidence in a German victory—led Japan to disaster.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026
“Crash” — an ensemble film about racial divides and intolerance in Los Angeles — triumphed over “Brokeback Mountain,” “Capote,” “Good Night, and Good Luck,” and “Munich” in 2006.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 24, 2026
Coeliac disease is not an allergy or food intolerance.
From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026
Afghans who worked alongside US troops during almost two decades of war were once promised a home in the United States to shelter them from the extremist intolerance of the Taliban.
From Barron's • Dec. 20, 2025
People gave those riders a chance to get off the bus, and they didn’t, and I’m going to face intolerance head-on as well.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
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.
