Library / English Dictionary

TOLERATE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Put up with something or somebody unpleasant

Example:

She stuck out two years in a miserable marriage

Synonyms:

abide; bear; brook; digest; endure; put up; stand; stick out; stomach; suffer; support; tolerate

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Hypernyms (to "tolerate" is one way to...):

allow; countenance; let; permit (consent to, give permission)

Verb group:

suffer (experience (emotional) pain)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "tolerate"):

accept; live with; swallow (tolerate or accommodate oneself to)

hold still for; stand for (tolerate or bear)

bear up (endure cheerfully)

take lying down (suffer without protest; suffer or endure passively)

take a joke (listen to a joke at one's own expense)

sit out (endure to the end)

pay (bear (a cost or penalty), in recompense for some action)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

Sam cannot tolerate Sue

Derivation:

tolerance (the act of tolerating something)

tolerant (tolerant and forgiving under provocation)

tolerant (showing the capacity for endurance)

toleration (a disposition to tolerate or accept people or situations)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Allow the presence of or allow (an activity) without opposing or prohibiting

Example:

We cannot tolerate smoking in the hospital

Synonyms:

allow; permit; tolerate

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "tolerate" is one way to...):

allow; countenance; let; permit (consent to, give permission)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sense 3

Meaning:

Have a tolerance for a poison or strong drug or pathogen or environmental condition

Example:

The patient does not tolerate the anti-inflammatory drugs we gave him

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Hypernyms (to "tolerate" is one way to...):

endure; suffer (undergo or be subjected to)

Domain category:

medical specialty; medicine (the branches of medical science that deal with nonsurgical techniques)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sense 4

Meaning:

Recognize and respect (rights and beliefs of others)

Example:

We must tolerate the religions of others

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Hypernyms (to "tolerate" is one way to...):

abide by; honor; honour; observe; respect (show respect towards)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something

Derivation:

tolerant (showing or characterized by broad-mindedness)

tolerant (showing respect for the rights or opinions or practices of others)

toleration (official recognition of the right of individuals to hold dissenting opinions (especially in religion))

Credits

 Context examples: 

Scientistss showed in the Parkinson’s mice that it is possible to show beneficial effects even at concentrations similar to those tolerated by humans.

(Blood pressure drug shows promise for treating Parkinson’s and dementia in animal studies, University of Cambridge)

He tolerated Mr. Morse, wondering the while how it felt to eat such humble pie.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Scientists over the years have modified the genetics of soybeans, corn, canola and other crop plants to develop varieties that tolerate specific herbicides and resist insect pests.

(Innovative Approach to Breeding Could Mean Higher Yields and Better Crops, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Researchers at the University of California San Diego studying how animals respond to infections have found a new pathway that may help in tolerating stressors that damage proteins.

(New Pathway for Handling Stress Discovered, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Children who recently had had an allergic reaction to sesame or were known to tolerate concentrated sesame, such as tahini, in their diet were not offered an oral food challenge.

(17% of Food-Allergic Children Have Sesame Allergy, National Institutes of Health)

Species that can more easily tolerate low oxygen levels, such as jellyfish, some squid and marine microbes, can flourish at the expense of fish, upsetting the balance of ecosystems.

(Oceans running out of oxygen at unprecedented rate, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

And I was quite right: depend on that: there are a thousand reasons why liaisons between governesses and tutors should never be tolerated a moment in any well-regulated house; firstly—Oh, gracious, mama!

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Used to indicate something that is tolerated or supported but not recommended (discouraged) and that may be in the process of being phased out; obsolescent.

(Deprecated, NCI Thesaurus)

Murder was not tolerated, servants were not slaves, and neither poison nor sleeping potions to be procured, like rhubarb, from every druggist.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

Also called maximum tolerated dose.

(MTD, NCI Dictionary)