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

“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

The third-party manager could be less tolerant of cost overruns and delays.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 18, 2026

“ZITHULELE,” the Quiet One, was what we called the tolerant, soft-spoken warder in charge of us at the quarry.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Related Words

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