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
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
During the nonconference slate, the losses were frustrating but tolerable.
—
Eden Laase, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
During that window, sour and bitter foods can taste sweet, making meals more tolerable.
—Ivan Taylor, CBS News, 2 Mar. 2026
Algorithms now determine which résumés are worth reading, which borrowers are creditworthy, which students are admissible, which messages deserve attention, and which risks are tolerable.
—Big Think, 2 Mar. 2026
Others didn’t want to hear explanation, suspicious of a larger culture that considers anti-Blackness the usual weather, on some psychic level, basically tolerable.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tolerable
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Eden Laase, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026
During that window, sour and bitter foods can taste sweet, making meals more tolerable.
—Ivan Taylor, CBS News, 2 Mar. 2026
Algorithms now determine which résumés are worth reading, which borrowers are creditworthy, which students are admissible, which messages deserve attention, and which risks are tolerable.
—Big Think, 2 Mar. 2026
Others didn’t want to hear explanation, suspicious of a larger culture that considers anti-Blackness the usual weather, on some psychic level, basically tolerable.
—Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for tolerable
Cite this Entry
“Tolerable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tolerable. Accessed 10 Mar. 2026.
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