tolerable

adjective

tol·​er·​a·​ble ˈtä-lə-rə-bəl How to pronounce tolerable (audio)
ˈtäl-rə-;
ˈtä-lər-bəl
1
: capable of being borne or endured
tolerable pain
2
: moderately good or agreeable : passable
a tolerable singing voice
tolerability noun
tolerably
ˈtä-lə-rə-blē How to pronounce tolerable (audio)
ˈtäl-rə-;
ˈtä-lər-blē
adverb

Examples of tolerable in a Sentence

The heat was tolerable for only a short time. stubbing your toe is at least a more tolerable pain than breaking your foot
Recent Examples on the Web How to use products with hyaluronic acid For most people, hyaluronic acid is easily tolerable on the skin, Ingleton says. Caroline C. Boyle, USA TODAY, 13 Apr. 2024 With an eye on what’s now being accomplished for male contraception, researchers may soon be able to deliver to women new forms of birth control that aren’t just more tolerable, but also more on-demand, less invasive, or even usable on male and female reproductive systems alike. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 3 Apr. 2024 Adding a few of these steps into your routine can prevent things from getting worse, and, hopefully, make your school pickup days or work commute a tad more tolerable. Ashley Abramson, SELF, 25 Mar. 2024 Along with the more tolerable temperatures associated with higher altitudes, many of these destinations feature a slate of other natural cooling mechanisms: swimming holes, floatable rivers, and towering, ancient trees that graciously provide shade to those hiking in the area. Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 24 Mar. 2024 Disorders like his are now manageable, but no more tolerable for it. Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024 No Doubt and Sublime reunited, Taylor Swift partied with Ice Spice, Olivia Rodrigo, Childish Gambino, Will Smith, Billie Eilish and A$AP Rocky all made surprise appearances during their friends’ sets and, thankfully, the weather topped out in the tolerable low 90s. Spin Staff, SPIN, 15 Apr. 2024 Biden on Wednesday highlighted his legislative achievements and executive actions that have curbed costs as part of his plan to get price increases back to tolerable pre-pandemic levels. Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024 What’s a tolerable balance of crank and good Samaritan? Wesley Morris Ron Butler Emma Kehlbeck Ted Blaisdell, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tolerable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of tolerable was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near tolerable

Cite this Entry

“Tolerable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tolerable. Accessed 2 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

tolerable

adjective
tol·​er·​able
ˈtäl-(ə-)rə-bəl,
ˈtäl-ər-bəl
1
: capable of being put up with
tolerable pain
2
: fairly good
a tolerable singing voice
tolerably
-blē
adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on tolerable

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!