tolerable

adjective

tol·​er·​a·​ble ˈtä-lə-rə-bəl 

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

ˌtä-lə-rə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

ˌtäl-rə-

noun

tolerably

ˈtä-lə-rə-blē 

ˈtäl-rə-;

ˈtä-lər-blē

adverb

Synonyms of tolerable

• endurable
• bearable
• sustainable
• sufferable

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

And yes, the notoriously frustrating Water Temple is much more tolerable this time around. — James Perkins Mastromarino, NPR, 4 Nov. 2026

Its shortcomings, including a lack of keyboard backlighting and an 8GB memory limit, are tolerable given the price. — Charles Jefferies, PC Magazine, 31 Oct. 2026

For each critical process, define the maximum tolerable disruption, key dependencies, minimum acceptable service level and owner. — Bojan Ilic, Forbes.com, 30 Oct. 2026

Minor chips on porcelain or stone plateware may be tolerable, but bacteria hide in more porous materials. — Nafeesah Allen, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for tolerable

• intolerable

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