Link Centre Dictionary

tolerate

to·le·rate

UK/ˈtɒl.ə.ɹeɪt/ US/ˈtɑ.lə.ɹeɪt/ fairly common

verb

1.

put up with something or somebody unpleasant

  • “I cannot bear his constant criticism”
  • “The new secretary had to endure a lot of unprofessional remarks”
  • “he learned to tolerate the heat”
  • “She stuck out two years in a miserable marriage”
2.

recognize and respect (rights and beliefs of others)

  • “We must tolerate the religions of others”
3.

have a tolerance for a poison or strong drug or pathogen

  • “The patient does not tolerate the anti-inflammatory drugs we gave him”
4.

allow the presence of or allow (an activity) without opposing or prohibiting

  • “We don”
  • “;”
  • “;”
Synonyms

Origin

Borrowed from Latin tolerātus, the perfect passive participle of tolerō (“to endure”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Cognate with Old English þolian (“to tolerate, suffer, bear”) and French tolérer. More at thole.

Related words

Broader terms

Related verbs

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.