tolerant

adjective tol·er·ant \ ˈtä-lə-rənt , ˈtäl-rənt \

Definition of tolerant

1 : inclined to tolerate; especially : marked by forbearance or endurance

tolerant parents

a culture tolerant of religious differences

2 : exhibiting tolerance (as for a drug or an environmental factor)

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tolerantly

adverb

See tolerant defined for English-language learners

See tolerant defined for kids

Examples of tolerant in a Sentence

this job requires a tolerant person who is used to dealing with complaints and angry customers
a tolerant acceptance of the terrible way that his wife has always treated him

Recent Examples of tolerant from the Web

The same is true of Kraft, who has expressed more tolerant views of player protests.

— michael mccann, SI.com, "Kaepernick Collusion Case: What Does It Mean that Jones, Kraft, Other Owners Will Be Deposed?," 3 Nov. 2017
Side effects: Our experience with a chocolate cupcake did not go over well with the gluten-tolerant amongst us.

— anna caplan, star-telegram, "Sweet dreams are made of these new bakeries in DFW," 25 Oct. 2017
Grant crafted a more tolerant, less genocidal policy toward Native American tribes.

— david plotz, Slate Magazine, "Give Me Grant: An American Musical," 2 Oct. 2017
That often results in topping or hat-racking trees, which makes them less storm tolerant in the long run.

— doreen christensen, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Hurricane prep: Tips from the pros on how to properly prune trees before storm season," 15 Sep. 2017
The specific fear, of course, is that a tolerant government might be toppled via its own virtue.

— harry bruinius, The Christian Science Monitor, "Free-speech debate: How does a tolerant society defend its values?," 31 Aug. 2017
More importantly, some early Protestants, desperately seeking religious freedom for themselves, found inspiration for that in the Ottoman Empire, which was then more tolerant to religious plurality than were most Catholic kingdoms.

— mustafa akyol, The Atlantic, "The Islamic World Doesn't Need a Reformation," 31 Oct. 2017
Deciduous and drought tolerant, jacaranda produce massive clouds of blue trumpet-like flowers in early spring before its first leaves appear.

— debbie arrington, sacbee, "Could this fern-like tree screen out the neighbors?," 13 Oct. 2017
Like her character, Smulders maintains a mature, tolerant air throughout.

— john defore, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Literally, Right Before Aaron': Film Review," 2 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tolerant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of tolerant

1776

tolerant Synonyms

Other Ecology Terms

Malthusian, anthropogenic, biomass, carbon footprint, crepuscular, niche, sere, symbiosis, taiga, tundra

TOLERANT Defined for English Language Learners

tolerant

adjective

Definition of tolerant for English Language Learners

: willing to accept feelings, habits, or beliefs that are different from your own
: able to allow or accept something that is harmful, unpleasant, etc.