tolerant

adjective

tol·​er·​ant ˈtä-lə-rənt 

ˈtäl-rənt

1

a

: willing to accept the beliefs, feelings, habits, or behaviors of another group, culture, etc. as legitimate even when they differ from one's own

Despite his strong opinions, he was tolerant enough to be friends with very different kinds of people …

—Ben Sixsmith

American society progressed, leaving the bluenose mentality behind. Actually, today's tolerant values, accepting yesterday's outcasts, are more decent, fair, and humane.

—James A. Haught

Certainly the tribal nature of political and social behavior … is a key to understanding the durability of despotic regimes and the absence of tolerant pluralism.

—David K. Shipler

—often used with of

The eight-term California Republican built a reputation in House leadership … as a friendly backslapper increasingly tolerant of his party's most hardline members.

—Michael Warren and Melanie Zanona

b

: permitting or accepting something (such as a behavior or belief) that one does not like

tolerant parents

—often used with of

When it comes to judging friends and lovers, though, people tend not to be so tolerant of contradiction. A lover who betrays us reveals his entire character in a new and damning light. "I thought I knew you!" we cry, in a howl of anger and bewilderment.

—Edward Dolnick

The southerner is usually tolerant of those weaknesses that proceed from innocence …

—Flannery O'Connor

I am impressed, when I teach in the United States, by the readiness of students and colleagues to perform boring tasks like reading ill-written but essential texts. … British academic life, by contrast, is markedly less tolerant of tedium; French too.

—George Watson

Holmes was not prone to friendship, but he was tolerant of the big Scotchman, and smiled at the sight of him.

—Arthur Conan Doyle

… an intellectual context that was tolerant of barbarism and inhumanity, or even justified it.

—Richard Wolin

2

: exhibiting tolerance (see tolerance sense 4a) for something (such as a drug or an environmental factor)

The goal of allergy shots is to render a person tolerant to an allergen when it is encountered.

—Jane E. Brody

These organisms aren't just cold tolerant, they're freeze resistant.

—Robert C. Cowen

When bacteria become tolerant to these compounds, they sometimes also become less sensitive to certain antibiotic medicines.

—Coco Ballantyne

tolerantly adverb

Synonyms

• forbearing
• long-suffering
• patient
• stoic
• stoical
• uncomplaining

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 on the Web

Some flowering plants are more tolerant of a bit of shade than others. —Neil Sperry, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Apr. 2024

If the Jews need a new Moses to show them a more tolerant, transformative vision of the Promised Land, Palestinians need a new Mohammed who can free them from the bondage of Hamas and promote the Islamic virtues of peace and reconciliation. —Doron Weber, TIME, 27 Apr. 2024

Lantana is typically cold-hardy, but some species are more tolerant than others. —Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 25 Apr. 2024

Compared to other countries in the region, present-day Croatia enjoyed a relatively tolerant form of socialism as part of the former Yugoslavia led by President Josip Broz Tito. —Alice Popovici, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024

Nevertheless, the tolerant vision still seems more prevalent in the country. —Dominique Soguel, The Christian Science Monitor, 10 Apr. 2024

Conversions to Orthodoxy are on the rise, and most of the converts are not looking for a tolerant message like Patriarch Bartholomew’s. —Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024

The Dutch Republic was split between the economic dynamism of tolerant coastal technocrats and the atavistic impulses of more conservative rural populations that had been left behind by liberal merchants and bankers. —Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 25 Mar. 2024

But the realistic alternative to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is probably a regime that remains quite repressive—and is far less committed to empowering women, curbing religious zealots, and otherwise making the country a more open, tolerant place. —Hal Brands, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1746, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing tolerant

• fault-tolerant

Kids Definition

tolerant

adjective

tol·​er·​ant ˈtäl(-ə)-rənt 

: showing tolerance

tolerantly adverb

Medical Definition

tolerant

adjective

tol·​er·​ant -rənt 

: exhibiting tolerance (as for a drug or physiological insult)

lactose tolerant