TOLERATE

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does tolerate mean? 

• TOLERATE (verb)
  The verb TOLERATE has 4 senses:

1. put up with something or somebody unpleasant

2. recognize and respect (rights and beliefs of others)

3. have a tolerance for a poison or strong drug or pathogen or environmental condition

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

  Familiarity information: TOLERATE used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• TOLERATE (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they tolerate    ... he / she / it tolerates   
Past simple: tolerated   
Past participle: tolerated   
-ing form: tolerating   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Put up with something or somebody unpleasant

Classified under:

Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting

Synonyms:

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

Context example:

She stuck out two years in a miserable marriage

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:

Recognize and respect (rights and beliefs of others)

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Context example:

We must tolerate the religions of others

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))

Sense 3

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Context example:

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

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:

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

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

allow; permit; tolerate

Context example:

We cannot tolerate smoking in the hospital

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

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

Sentence frames:

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

 Context examples 

If you only knew the problem I have to face, and that I am working out, you would pity, and tolerate, and pardon me.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

White Fang, however, was beginning to tolerate this act.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

It is well tolerated and is particularly effective in older patients.

(Ketanserin, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

An assessment tool to ascertain verbal learning and memory skills that is well tolerated by those with moderate to severe dementia.

(Hopkins Verbal Learning Test Revised, NCI Thesaurus)

Emma's only surprize was that Jane Fairfax should accept those attentions and tolerate Mrs. Elton as she seemed to do.

(Emma, by Jane Austen)

It is used to provide nutritional support to patients who are unable to tolerate oral feeding or who require mechanical ventilation.

(Nasoduodenal Tube, NCI Thesaurus)

As I said, the universe does not tolerate the status quo and will create reasons to move you forward.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Dominants rarely tolerate rival breeders, and violently eject subordinates from the group if they feel threatened.

(Breeder meerkats age faster, but their subordinates still die younger, University of Cambridge)

Miss Carteret, with still less to say, was so plain and so awkward, that she would never have been tolerated in Camden Place but for her birth.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

Calcium benzoyl-PAS is better tolerated by patients, leading to higher compliance.

(Benzoylpas Calcium, NCI Thesaurus)