Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Definition: Tolerant |
TolerantAdjective1. Showing respect for the rights or opinions or practices of others. 2. Tolerant and forgiving under provocation; "our neighbor was very kind about the window our son broke". 3. Showing or characterized by broad-mindedness; "a broad political stance"; "generous and broad sympathies"; "a liberal newspaper"; "tolerant of his opponent's opinions". 4. Showing the capacity for endurance; "injustice can make us tolerant and forgiving"; "a man patient of distractions". Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "tolerant" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1050. (references) |
| Domain | Definition |
Biology & Biotechnology | Capable of withstanding a condition usually unfavourable. Some plants are tolerant of soil acidity and others are tolerant of soil alkalinity. Source: European Union. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
Synonyms: TolerantSynonyms: broad (adj), kind (adj), liberal (adj), patient of (adj). (additional references) |
| Antonym: intolerant (adj). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Excitability | Meek, tolerant; patient, patient as Job; submissive; tame; content, resigned, chastened, subdued, lamblike; gentle as a lamb; suaviter in modo; mild as mothers milk; soft as peppermint; armed with patience, bearing with, clement, long-suffering. |
Lenity | Adjective: lenient; mild, mild as milk; gentle, soft; tolerant, indulgent, easy-going; clement; (compassionate); forbearing; long-suffering. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Tolerant |
| English words defined with "tolerant": big ♦ easygoing ♦ genus Myricaria ♦ indulgent ♦ kind ♦ large, latitudinarian, lax, lenience, leniency, lenient, lenity, liberal ♦ magnanimous, mildness, Myricaria ♦ patient of ♦ soft ♦ tolerantly. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "tolerant": algal blooms ♦ Clonal Deletion ♦ Dog, Drug Resistance, Microbial ♦ fault tolerant ♦ satire ♦ Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter. (references) |
| Non-English Usage: "Tolerant" is also a word in the following languages with English translations in parentheses. Albanian (broad, easygoing, large minded, permissive, tolerant), Danish (tolerant), Dutch (tolerant), German (broad, broadminded, permissive, tolerant, tolerantly), Norwegian (broad-minded, tolerant), Romanian (broad, latitudinarian, lenient, placable, tolerant), Swedish (large, large minded, permissive, tolerant). |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | I'm a very tolerant man, except when it comes to holding a grudge (Popeye; writing credit: Jules Feiffer. Based on the comic strip by E.C. Segar. Starring Robin Williams as Popeye, Shelley Duvall as Olive Oyl, Ray Walston as Poopdeck Pappy, and Paul Dooley as Wimpy.) | |
Clever | Be tender to the young, compassionate to the aged, tolerant with the weak; for in your life you will be all of these. (references; author: unknown) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
High Tech |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
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| "Tolrance tux diving" by Julia Eisenberg Commentary: "Bsd tolerant tux diving for pringles." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Author | Quotation |
Hosea Ballou | Has not God borne with you these many years? Be ye tolerant of others. |
Oscar Wilde | Yes; the public is wonderfully tolerant. It forgives everything except genius. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | |
| Title | Author | Quote |
Scarlet Letter | Hawthorne, Nathaniel | Especially, she is seldom tolerant of emotion, when she does not fully comprehend the why and wherefore |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | A "sleepy" and uncoordinated feeling during the first few days, as the body becomes accustomed - tolerant - to the effects, these feelings diminish. (references) | |
All students with TS need a tolerant and compassionate setting that both encourages them to work to their full potential and is flexible enough to accommodate their special needs. (references) | ||
Business | Some emirates are relatively tolerant of seminars and conferences on sensitive subjects. (references) | |
The Government's response to dissent was also somewhat more tolerant than in recent years. (references) | ||
Civil Liberties | Guinea-Bissau | The UNHCR reported that the country has been tolerant of these refugees. (references) |
Kazakhstan | In general the Government was tolerant toward the Chinese Uighur population. (references) | |
Kazakhstan | However, in practice the Government is tolerant in its treatment of local refugee populations. (references) | |
Economic History | Senegal | The country's generally tolerant culture, largely free from ethnic or religious tensions, has provided a resilient base for democratic politics. (references) |
Costa Rica | Costa Ricans have been historically tolerant of immigrants, including less educated arrivals who provide welcome low-cost labor in agriculture and other sectors. (references) | |
Slovak Rep | The unions generally have been tolerant of the costs imposed on labor by economic transformation, but a more aggressive union leadership has emerged that is more politically engaged and more active among its membership. (references) | |
Minorities | Slovak Republic | The poll also indicated that persons under 30 years of age are more tolerant towards Roma than older persons. (references) |
Slovak Republic | A poll published in January that surveyed 1,046 persons concluded that public opinion towards Roma appeared to be more tolerant. (references) | |
Romania | According to minority religious groups, the population is receptive to minority Christian confessions, and local officials tend to be tolerant but often are pressured and intimidated by the Orthodox clergy. (references) | |
Political Economy | Turkey | DYP was formed in 1983 in the tradition of the defunct Justice Party of Suleyman Demirel: a heterogeneous, conservative mass party, tolerant of religious beliefs, and supportive of rural development, as well as free trade. (references) |
Travel | Uzbekistan | While Tashkent is a fairly westernized, cosmopolitan city, the rest of Uzbekistan, especially in rural areas, tends to be a rather conservative, tolerant and hospital, Muslim-based culture. (references) |
Thailand | The Thai cultural values of patience, respect for status (age, authority, etc.) and not losing face, are significant factors in business relationships as well . Thais feel great pride for their country and have deep respect for tradition . Sometimes, however, observance of traditional formalities may seem inconsistent to the tolerant, relaxed nature of living in Thailand . This can be confusing or frustrating to Westerners who are more informal and more time conscious. (references) | |
Worker Rights | Tajikistan | There were reports that low-level government officials and border guards are tolerant of, if not involved in, trafficking of persons. (references) |
Lexicography | Devil's Dictionary | DOG, n. A kind of additional or subsidiary Deity designed to catch the overflow and surplus of the world's worship. This Divine Being in some of his smaller and silkier incarnations takes, in the affection of Woman, the place to which there is no human male aspirant. The Dog is a survival -- an anachronism. He toils not, neither does he spin, yet Solomon in all his glory never lay upon a door-mat all day long, sun-soaked and fly-fed and fat, while his master worked for the means wherewith to purchase the idle wag of the Solomonic tail, seasoned with a look of tolerant recognition. |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| Speaker | Phrase(s) |
Art Linkletter | The good things about aging are you become more tolerant and more loving, more caring because you've been bumped around. You've had some troubles and you know how tough life can be. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Speaker | Term | Phrase(s) |
Thomas Jefferson | 1801-1809 | This greater degree of transpiration renders them more tolerant of heat, and less so of cold than the whites. |
George W. Bush | 2001-2005 | America strives to be tolerant and just. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
| "Tolerant" is generally used as an adjective (general or positive) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Tolerant" is used about 402 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Adjective (general or positive) | 100% | 402 | 13,930 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expression using "tolerant": fault tolerant. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "tolerant": acid-tolerant, drought-tolerant, fault-tolerant. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "tolerant"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | tolerant (broad, easygoing, large minded, permissive), zemërgjerë (big hearted, bountiful, generous, great-hearted, large-hearted, merciful, noble-minded), që e duron, i duruar (meek, patient, placable, uncomplaining). (various references) | |
Arabic | متسامح (broad minded, fond, forbearing, forgiving, indulgent, large minded, lenient, liberal, merciful, mild, permissive, soft), متساهل (indulgent, lenient, permissive), قادر على التحمل, قادر على الإحتمال, صفوح (forgiving, placable, propitious). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | свободомислещ (advanced, freethinker, liberal, liberal-minded), търпелив (enduring, patient, uncomplaining, unmurmuring), толерантен (large minded, permissive, understanding), имащ добра поносимост. (various references) | |
Chinese | 宽容 (Catholic, Clement, toleration), 寬容 (lenient). (various references) | |
Czech | tolerantní (broad, broadminded, easygoing), snášenlivý (broadminded, good tempered), shovívavý (charitable, Clement, indulgent, lenient, permissive). (various references) | |
Danish | tolerant (permissive). (various references) | |
Dutch | tolerant, verdraagzaam, resistentie (drug resistance, tenacity), lankmoedig (lenient). (various references) | |
Farsi | مداراامیز, اغماض کننده , ازادمنش , ازاده (Catholic, Liberal, Noble), شکیبا (Patient), شخص متحمل , دارای سعه نظر (Liberal), بامدارا (Lenient), بردبار (Meek, Patient). (various references) | |
Finnish | suvaitsevainen. (various references) | |
French | tolérant (tolerantly, tolerative). (various references) | |
Frisian | ferdraachsum. (various references) | |
German | tolerante (permissively), tolerant (broad, broadminded, permissive, tolerantly), Widerstandsfaehigkeit, widerstandsfähig (fast, Hardy, imperishable, resistant, robust, tough), nachsichtig (clement, forbearing, forbearingly, indulgent, indulgently, lenient, leniently, soft, tolerantly), großzügig (ambitious, bounteous, bountiful, bountifully, broad, broad minded, broadminded, charitably, free, freehanded, generous, generously, handsome, handsomely, large, large scale, lavish, lavishly, liberal, liberally, lordly, noble, open handed, spacious, ungrudging, ungrudgingly, unsparing, unsparingly, unstinting, unstintingly, warm-hearted), duldsam (indulgent, meek, tolerantly, tolerative, uncomplaining). (various references) | |
Greek | ανεκτικόσ (broad minded), ανεκτικός (broadminded, tolerant of), ανεξίθρησκοσ, ανθεκτικός (hard-wearing, resilient, resistant, sturdy). (various references) | |
Hebrew | סובלני (catholic). (various references) | |
Hungarian | toleráns, türelmes (broad, forbearing, large minded, long-suffering, patient, permissive, suffering, uncomplaining). (various references) | |
Icelandic | umburðarlyndur. (various references) | |
Indonesian | bersikap toleran. (various references) | |
Italian | tollerante (enduring, long-suffering, permissive). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 耐性 (resistance, resistant, tolerance), 寛容 (generous, liberal). (various references) | |
Korean | 관대한. (various references) | |
Manx | surransoil, surransagh (forbearing, in-patient, passive, patient, sufferable, sufferer, supportable, tolerable), surrallagh (bearable). (various references) | |
Norwegian | tolerant (broad-minded). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | oleranttay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | tolerante (broad-minded, indulgent, large-minded, permissive). (various references) | |
Romanian | tolerant (broad, latitudinarian, lenient, placable), rãbdãtor (enduring, patient, patiently), care suportã bine un tratament, care îndurã bine un tratament, îngãduitor (compliant, facile, gracious, indulgent, kind, lenient, patient, yielding). (various references) | |
Russian | толерантный, терпимый (bearable, broad, broadminded, endurable, large-hearted, large-minded, lenient, tolerable). (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | trpeljiv (liberal), tolerantan. (various references) | |
Spanish | tolerante (broadminded, indulgent, large minded, liberal, permissive, reasonable, tolerantly). (various references) | |
Swedish | tolerant (large, large minded, permissive). (various references) | |
Turkish | toleranslı, tahammül eden, sabırlı (enduring, long-suffering, patient, uncomplaining), müsamahakâr (complaisant, permissive), hoşgörülü (broad, Clement, complaisant, decent, forgiving, gentle, indulgent, lenient, patient, permissive, wide open). (various references) | |
Turkmen | зydamly (bearable, solid). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | толерантний, терпимий (bearable, large minded, lenient, tolerable), здатний витримати. (various references) | |
Vietnamese | khoan dung (clement, forgiving, lenient). (various references) | |
Welsh | goddefgar (forbearing). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
| Language | Period | Translations |
| Latin | 500 BCE-Modern | tolerabile, tolerabilius. (various references) |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "tolerant": tolerantly. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "tolerant": intolerant. (additional references) | |
Words containing "tolerant": intolerantly, intolerantness, intolerantnesses. (additional references) | |
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"Tolerant" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Pollerman, toblerone, toleman, toleran, tolerent, tolmeia, Tolverne. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "tolerant" (pronounced tÄ"lerunt) |
| 7 | t Ä" l er u n t | intolerant. |
| 5 | -l er u n t | accelerant. |
| 4 | -er u n t | afferent, aspirant, belligerent, cormorant, ignorant, deodorant, different, efferent, expectorant, exuberant, irreverent, itinerant, odorant, operant, refrigerant, reverent. |
| 3 | -u n t | agent, aggrandizement, agreement, ailment, alignment, allotment, amazement, ambient, ambivalent, amendment, amusement, ancient, announcement, annulment, antecedent, antidepressant, antigovernment, antioxidant, apartment, apparent, appeasement, applicant, appointment, apportionment, ardent, argent, argument, armament, arraignment, arrangement, arrant, arrogant, absent, absorbent, abstinent, abundant, accident, accompaniment, accomplishment, abandonment, abatement, aberrant, abhorrent, abortifacient, accountant, accouterment, achievement, acknowledgement, acknowledgment, adamant, adherent, adjacent, adjournment, adjustment, adjutant, adolescent, adornment, advancement, advertisement, advisement, affiant, affluent, ascendant, assailant, assessment, assignment, assistant, assortment, astonishment, astringent, atonement, attachment, attainment, attendant, banishment, basement, battlement, bemusement, beneficent, benevolent, bereavement, betterment, bewilderment, blandishment, blatant, bombardment, brilliant, buoyant, celebrant, claimant, clairvoyant, Clement, client, coefficient, cogent, cognizant, coherent, coincident, combatant, commandment, commencement, commitment, compartment, competent, complacent, complainant, complaisant, complement, compliant, component, comportment, concealment, concomitant, concurrent, condiment, confident, confinement, confluent, consequent, consignment, consistent, consonant, constant, constituent, consultant, containment, contaminant, contentment, contestant, continent, contingent, convalescent, convenient, convent, convergent, conversant, coolant, copayment, corespondent, correspondent, Courant, covenant, Crescent, crosscurrent, current, curtailment, immanent, immigrant, imminent, impairment, impatient, impeachment, impediment, impertinent, implement, important, impotent, impoundment, impoverishment, impressment, imprisonment, improvement, imprudent, inadvertent, incandescent, debarment, debasement, decadent, decedent, decent, declarant, decongestant, defendant, deferment, defiant, deficient, defoliant, delinquent, department, dependent, deployment, deportment, depressant, derailment, descendant, descendent, despondent, detachment, detergent, determent, determinant, deterrent, detriment, development, deviant, diligent, diminishment, disagreement, disappointment, disarmament, disbarment, disbursement, discernment, discordant, discouragement, disenchantment, disenfranchisement, disengagement, disestablishment, disgruntlement, disillusionment, disinfectant, disinvestment, dismantlement, dismemberment, disobedient, dispersant, displacement, dissident, dissonant, distant, divalent, divergent, divestment, docent, dominant, dormant, easement, ebullient, effervescent, efficient, effluent, elegant, element, elephant, eloquent, embankment, embarrassment, embayment, embellishment, embezzlement, embodiment, emergent, emigrant, eminent, emplacement, employment, empowerment, enactment, encampment, enchantment, encirclement, encouragement, encroachment, endangerment, endearment, endorsement, endowment, enforcement, engagement, enhancement, enjoyment, enlargement, enlightenment, enlistment, enrichment, enrollment, enslavement, entanglement, entertainment, enticement, entitlement, entombment, entrant, entrapment, entrenchment, environment, equipment, equivalent, errant, escapement, escarpment, esculent, establishment, estrangement, evanescent, evident, excellent, excitement, excrement, exigent, existent, exorbitant, expectant, expedient, experiment, exponent, extant, extinguishment, extravagant, exultant, Fabricant, fervent, figment, filament, flagrant, flamboyant, flatulent, flippant, fluent, fluorescent, formant, fragment, fragrant, fraudulent, frequent, fulfillment, gallant, garment, garnishment, giant, government, grandiloquent, grandparent, harassment, hesitant, hydrant, incessant, incident, incipient, incitement, inclement, incoherent, incompetent, inconsistent, incontinent, inconvenient, increment, incumbent, indecent, independent, indictment, indifferent, indigent, indignant, indolent, inducement, indulgent, inefficient, infant, informant, infotainment, infrequent, infringement, ingredient, inhabitant, inhalant, inherent, innocent, inpatient, insignificant, insistent, insolent, insolvent, installment, instant, instrument, insufficient, insurgent, integument, intelligent, intercurrent, interdependent, intermittent, internment, intersegment, intransigent, invariant, investment, involvement, iridescent, irrelevant, irritant, jubilant, judgement, judgment, latent, leant, lenient, lieutenant, ligament, litigant, lubricant, lucent, luminescent, luxuriant, magnificent, malevolent, malignant, maltreatment, management, measurement, merchant, micromanagement, migrant, militant, miscreant, misgovernment, misjudgment, mismanagement, misstatement, mistreatment, moment, monovalent, monument, mordant, movement, mutant, nascent, negligent, noncombatant, nonexistent, nongovernment, nonmanagement, nonpayment, nonresident, nonviolent, nourishment, nutrient, obedient, observant, obsolescent, occupant, ointment, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, opponent, opulent, ornament, orpiment, outpatient, outplacement, overconfident, overpayment, overstatement, oxidant, pageant, parchment, parent, parliament, participant, patent, patient, pavement, payment, peasant, penchant, pendant, penitent, pennant, percipient, permanent, persistent, pertinent, petulant, pheasant, pigment, piquant, placement, pleasant, pliant, poignant, pollutant, postponement, postretirement, potent, preadolescent, precedent, predicament, predominant, preeminent, pregnant, prejudgment, prepayment, prescient, present, presentment, prevalent, procurement, proficient, prominent, pronouncement, propellant, proponent, protestant, provident, prudent, prurient, pungent, punishment, pursuant, puzzlement, quadrant, quiescent, quotient, radiant, rampant, readjustment, reagent, realignment, reappointment, reapportionment, rearmament, rearrangement, reassessment, reassignment, recalcitrant, recent, recipient, recombinant, recruitment, recurrent, redeployment, redevelopment, redundant, reemployment, reenactment, refinement, refreshment, refurbishment, Regent, regiment, registrant, reimbursement, reinforcement, reinstatement, reinvestment, relevant, reliant, reluctant, reminiscent, remnant, repayment, repellent, repentant, replacement, replenishment, repugnant, requirement, resentment, resettlement, resident, resilient, resistant, resonant, resplendent, respondent, restatement, resultant, resurgent, retardant, reticent, retirement, retrenchment, rodent, rudiment, ruminant, sacrament, salient, seafront, sealant, sediment, segment, semipermanent, sentiment, Sequent, sergeant, serpent, servant, settlement, shipment, significant, silent, solvent, somnolent, stagnant, statement, stimulant, strident, stringent, student, subcontinent, subsequent, subservient, succulent, sufficient, supergiant, superintendent, supplement, supplicant, suppressant, surfactant, talent, tangent, temperament, tenant, tenement, testament, tetravalent, torrent, tournament, transcendent, transient, translucent, transparent, treatment, trenchant, trident, triumphant, truant, truculent, tumescent, turbulent, tyrant, undercurrent, underdevelopment, underemployment, undergarment, underpayment, understatement, unemployment, unimportant, unpleasant, unrepentant, urgent, vacant, vagrant, valiant, variant, vehement, verdant, vibrant, vigilant, violent, virulent, warrant, wonderment. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-e-l-n-o-r-t-t" | |
-2 letters: antler, atoner, attorn, etalon, latent, latten, latter, learnt, loaner, natter, notate, ornate, ratten, rattle, ratton, reloan, rental, rotate, rotten, talent, tolane, tonlet, torten. | |
-3 letters: alert, alone, alter, anole, antre, artel, atone, enrol, laten, later, latte, leant, learn, lento, loner, loran, lotte, nerol, notal, noter, oaten, oater, orate, ottar, otter, ratel, renal, rotte. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-e-l-n-o-r-t-t" | |
+1 letter: natrolite, outlearnt. | |
+2 letters: alteration, alternator, intolerant, literation, natrolites, sandlotter, tetragonal, tolerantly, tolerating, toleration, torrential, ventilator. | |
+3 letters: alterations, altercation, alternation, alternators, battlefront, contractile, elutriation, fortunately, intercostal, interpolate, literations, nonliterate, orientalist, protoplanet, reallotting, reluctation, retaliation, sandlotters, tolerations, translocate, ventilators, ventilatory. | |
+4 letters: acetonitrile, adulteration, alliteration, altercations, alternations, antielectron, battlefronts, battleground, coelenterate, congratulate, contemplator, contractible, contrastable, counterblast, elutriations, enterostomal, exorbitantly, frontalities, intercoastal, intercostals, interorbital, interpolated, interpolates, interpolator, intolerantly, laterization, metropolitan, nonliterates, obliterating, obliteration, orientalists, preallotting, protonematal, protoplanets, reluctations, repetitional, replantation, reputational, retaliations, reticulation, retinotectal, stenothermal, sternocostal, tetragonally, torrentially, translocated, translocates, trochanteral, ultramontane, ultraviolent. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Digital Art 7. Quotations: Familiar 8. Quotations: Fiction | 9. Quotations: Non-fiction 10. Quotations: Spoken 11. Quotations: Speeches 12. Usage Frequency | 13. Expressions 14. Expressions: Internet 15. Translations: Modern 16. Translations: Ancient | 17. Derivations 18. Rhymes 19. Anagrams 20. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.