tolerant
Americanadjective
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inclined or disposed to tolerate; showing tolerance; forbearing.
tolerant of errors.
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favoring toleration.
a tolerant church.
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Medicine/Medical, Immunology.
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able to endure or resist the action of a drug, poison, etc.
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lacking or exhibiting low levels of immune response to a normally immunogenic substance.
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adjective
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able to tolerate the beliefs, actions, opinions, etc, of others
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permissive
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able to withstand extremes, as of heat and cold
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med (of a patient) exhibiting tolerance to a drug
Other Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing tolerant
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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.
“That is not who we are in Britain. In Britain, we are reasonable, tolerant people.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
The dose is gradually increased over time to help the immune system become more tolerant.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 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
Apparently the adult mosquitoes had become sufficiently tolerant of DDT to escape from sprayed buildings and rest and recover in the open.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
