tolerate Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb put up with something or somebody unpleasant
    stomach; brook; support; put up; bear; abide; endure; stick out; suffer; digest; stand.
    • I cannot bear his constant criticism
    • The new secretary had to endure a lot of unprofessional remarks
    • he learned to tolerate the heat
    • She stuck out two years in a miserable marriage
  2. verb recognize and respect (rights and beliefs of others)
    • We must tolerate the religions of others
  3. verb have a tolerance for a poison or strong drug or pathogen or environmental condition
    • The patient does not tolerate the anti-inflammatory drugs we gave him
  4. verb allow the presence of or allow (an activity) without opposing or prohibiting
    allow; permit.
    • We don't allow dogs here
    • Children are not permitted beyond this point
    • We cannot tolerate smoking in the hospital

WordNet

Tol"er*ate transitive verb
Etymology
L. toleratus, p.p. of tolerare, fr. the same root as tollere to lift up, tuli, used as perfect of ferre to bear, latus (for tlatus), used as p.p. of ferre to bear, and E. thole. See Thole, and cf. Atlas, Collation, Delay, Elate, Extol, Legislate, Oblate, Prelate, Relate, Superlative, Talent, Toll to take away, Translate.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Tolerated ; present participle & verbal noun Tolerating
Definitions
  1. To suffer to be, or to be done, without prohibition or hindrance; to allow or permit negatively, by not preventing; not to restrain; to put up with; as, to tolerate doubtful practices.
    Crying should not be tolerated in children. Locke.
    We tolerate them because property and liberty, to a degree, require that toleration. Burke.
    Syn. -- See Permit.

Webster 1913