Tolerate

Definition: Tolerate

Tolerate

Verb

1. Put up with something or somebody unpleasant; "I cannot bear his constant criticism"; "The new secretary had to endure a lot of unprofessional remarks"; "he learned to tolerate the heat".

Date "tolerate" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1380. (references)

Note: Tolerate \Tol"er*ate\, transitive verb. [imperative past participle Tolerated; present participle verb or noun Tolerating.]. (Websters 1913)

Synonyms: Tolerate

Synonyms: abide (v), bear (v), brook (v), endure (v), put up (v), stand (v), stomach (v), suffer (v), support (v). (additional references)

Context	Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus).
Content	Take up with, take in good part; accept, tolerate; consent; acquiesce, assent; be reconciled to, make one's peace with; get over it; take heart, take comfort; put up with; (bear).
Excitability	Tolerate, suffer, stand, bide; abide, aby; bear with, put up with, take up with, abide with; acquiesce; submit; (yield); submit with a good grace; resign oneself to, reconcile oneself to; brook, digest, eat, swallow, pocket, stomach.
Laxity	Verb: be -lax; Adjective: laisser faire, laisser aller; hold a loose rein; give the reins to, give rope enough, give a loose to; tolerate; relax; misrule.
Lenity	Verb: be -lenient; Adjective: tolerate, bear with; parcere subjectis, give quarter.
Permission	Verb: permit; give permission; Noun: give power; let, allow, admit; suffer, bear with, tolerate, recognize; concede; accord, vouchsafe, favor, humor, gratify, indulge, stretch a point; wink at, connive at; shut one's eyes to.
Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus.

Domain	Usage
Screenplays	Well, we tolerate anybody, even the intolerable. (Alien�; writing credit: Dan O'Bannon; Ronald Shusett) Well, maybe not, but I don't have to tolerate it. (Vengeance Unlimited; writing credit: Andrew Davies; William Makepeace Thackeray) It's understanding that makes it possible for people like us to tolerate a person like yourself. (Ferris Bueller's Day Off; writing credit: John Hughes) And because he is unique, the world will not tolerate his existence. (The Hulk; writing credit: John Turman) But Wang, a maniacal botanist whose organ was devoured by a crazed Penis Flytrap, could not tolerate the existence of so much pleasure, and so, banding together an army of the impotent and frustrated, and armed with a small but effective sex ray, plunged my palace into carnal chaos, and took it over. (Flesh Gordon; writing credit: Michael Benveniste)
Lyrics	Let it be known, that we will no longer tolerate a (Anarchy Through Capitolism; performing artist: Kottonmouth Kings) 'Cause I couldn't tolerate (Birdhouse in Your Soul; performing artist: They Might Be Giants) You can tolerate him if you try. (National Brotherhood Week; performing artist: Tom Lehrer)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Domain	Title
Books	Multiculturalism : can Trudeau's liberalism tolerate it? (reference) (more book examples)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Thumbnail	Description & Credit	Thumbnail	Description & Credit
	North Inlet - Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. Mummichogs, Fundulus heteroclitus, are year-round residents of salt marshes and can tolerate a wide range of temperatures and salinities. Two brightly colored males (top and bottom) are featured with a duller-colored female (middle) in this picture. Credit: National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERR).		Plant physiologist Leon Kochain (left) and molecular biologist David Garvin check wheat plants for aluminum tolerance. Some wheat and corn plants can tolerate aluminum by excluding the metal from the root tip. P. Credit: USDA ARS News; photo by Scott Bauer..
	I can tolerate the vertical motion and I survive the lateral action, but when the two ... Credit: Library of Congress.		The Red Devil doesn't die, the big mess doesn't stop] [to tolerate communists and fight against Japanese is to perish China, hope to wake from dream soon, to build happy land. Credit: Library of Congress.
	Madrid. The 'military' practice of the Rebels. If you tolerate this, your children will be next. Credit: Library of Congress.
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Author	Quotation
Doris Lessing	In university they don't tell you that the greater part of the law is learning to tolerate fools.
Henri Frederic Amiel	Clever people will recognize and tolerate nothing but cleverness.
Thomas Jefferson	For here we are not afraid to follow truth wherever it may lead, nor to tolerate error so long as reason is free to combat it.
William James	We want all our friends to tell us our bad qualities; it is only the particular ass that does so whom we can't tolerate.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Title	Author	Quote
Emma	Austen, Jane	I can imagine, that before she had seen any body superior, she might tolerate him.
Walden	Thoreau, Henry David	There is an incessant influx of novelty into the world, and yet we tolerate incredible dulness.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Subject	Topic	Quote
Health		It cannot tolerate drying and can be killed by oxygen. (references)
		Other drugs are available for patients unable to tolerate erythromycin. (references)
		The severity of symptoms varies depending on the amount of lactose each individual can tolerate. (references)
Children	Jordan	Illegitimate children are entitled to the same rights under the law as legitimate children; however, in practice they suffer severe discrimination in a society that does not tolerate adultery or premarital sex. (references)
Civil Liberties	Sri Lanka	The LTTE does not tolerate freedom of expression. (references)
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Local Croat authorities do not tolerate opposition viewpoints. (references)
Economic History	Iraq	The Iraqi regime does not tolerate opposition. (references)
	Vietnam	The long-standing policy of the government of Vietnam has been not to tolerate political dissent. (references)
Human Rights	Venezuela	The Constitution prohibits torture and the holding of detainees incommunicado, provides for the prosecution of officials who instigate or tolerate torture, and grants victims the right to medical rehabilitation. (references)
Political Economy	Saudi Arabia	However, during the year, the Government continued to tolerate a wider range of debate and criticism in the press concerning domestic issues. (references)
	Mexico	The PAN advocates private sector-oriented policies and is generally less inclined than the other two parties to encourage or tolerate government intervention in the economy. (references)
	HAITI	While infringement of intellectual property rights occurs in Haiti, the economy only produces a small variety of products, most of which are exported to the United States and other countries that do not tolerate open infringement. (references)
Political Rights	Saudi Arabia	The IRM implicitly condoned the two terrorist attacks as well, arguing that they were a natural outgrowth of a political system that does not tolerate peaceful dissent. (references)
Women	Central African Republic	Some women reportedly tolerate abuse to retain a measure of financial security for themselves and their children. (references)
Worker Rights	Slovenia	Government officials are generally not involved in trafficking, although there is anecdotal evidence that some government officials tolerate trafficking at the local level. (references)
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Speaker	Phrase(s)
Laura Schlessinger	Whatever it takes. If she's annoying, if she's demanding, tolerate it because that's the price of admission to the grandchildren.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Speaker	Term	Phrase(s)
John F. Kennedy	1961-1963	Neither the United States of America nor the world community of nations can tolerate deliberate deception and offensive threats on the part of any nation, large or small.
Gerald Ford	1974-1977	The United States can never tolerate a shift in strategic balance against us or even a situation where the American people or our allies believe the balance is shifting against us.
Jimmy Carter	1977-1981	Not much longer can we tolerate this stalemate.
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

"Tolerate" is generally used as a lexical verb (infinitive) -- approximately 89.48% of the time. "Tolerate" is used about 617 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
Lexical Verb (infinitive)	89.48%	552	11,288
Lexical Verb (base form)	8.09%	50	48,117
Adjective (general or positive)	2.27%	14	93,893
Noun (singular)	0.16%	1	339,140
Total	100.00%	617	N/A

Expressions using "tolerate": be unable to tolerate ♦ not to tolerate ♦ refuse to tolerate. Additional references.
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 "tolerate"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.
Albanian		rezistoj (dispute, endure, fend, hold out, rebel, rebuff, resist, withstand), lejoj (admit, allow, authorise, authorize, let, license, permit, sanction, suffer), duroj (bear, bide, Brook, digest, do with, endure, hack, put up with, stick out, wear, withstand). (various references)

Arabic		‏تحمل (afford, bear, bear up, bearing, decamp, defray, endure, firmness, have smb. over, hold out, incur, last, lump it, mizzle, pocket, put up with, see, stand, stick, stick it out, stomach, suffer, support, sustain, tighten, undergo), ‏تسامح ب, ‏تساهل (indulge, indulgence, lay off, lenience, leniency, let on, toleration), ‏إحتمل (hard, resist, support), ‏أطاق (bear, brook, endure, put up, stand, stomach, sustain). (various references)

Bulgarian		търпя (abide, accept, admit, bear, digest, endure, play along, put up with, stick, suffer, support), покровителствувам (favour, guard, patronize, protect, screen), понасям (bear, bear off, bide, carry, carry off, digest, drag along, go, incur, play along, pocket, see, stand, stick, suffer, support, sweep away, take, undergo), допускам (accept, admit, allow, assume, bear, concede, permit, suppose). (various references)

Chinese		容忍 (tolerance, Tolerated, Tolerating). (various references)

Czech		tolerovat (permit), vydržet (bear, endure, hold on, hold out, last, spin out, stand, stay, stick it out, stomach, sustain, take, undergo, withstand), snášet (bear, hold out, suffer, support, undergo), dovolit (allow, consent, leave, let, permit). (various references)

Danish		tåle (abide, endure, put up with). (various references)

Dutch		toelaten (abide, accord, admit, afford, allow, endure, leave, let, permit, put up with, release), dulden (abide, endure, put up with), aanzien (abide, appearance, aspect, endure, esteem, look, put up with, regard, respect, sight, view). (various references)

Esperanto		toleri (endure, put up with). (various references)

Faeroese		torga (abide, endure, put up with), tola (abide, endure, put up with), loyva (abide, accord, admit, afford, allow, concede, endure, grant, permit, put up with). (various references)

Farsi		مداراکردن , تحمل کردن (Bear, Bide, Comport, Endure, Experience, Stomach, Suffer, Support, Sustain, Undergo, Withstand), طاقت داشتن , برخوردهموارکردن . (various references)

Finnish		suvaita (condescend, put up with, stand), sietää (bear, endure, put up with, stand), kärsiä (abide, bear, endure, go through, put up with, stand, suffer). (various references)

French		tolérer. (various references)

German		dulden (abide, acquiesce, bear, Brook, condone, connive, countenance, endure, permit, put up with, suffer, to acquiesce, to connive, to tolerate), zulassen (accredit, admint, admit, admit of, allow, allow of, authorize, keep closed, leave shut, let, let in, lets, license, permit, register, to admit of, to allow, to allow of, to tolerate), vertragen (carry over, do with, endure, hold over, leave over, remand, stand, stomach, take, to tolerate). (various references)

Greek		ανέχομαι (bear, bide, connive at, countenance, do with, put up with, stand for, stomach, support). (various references)

Hebrew		ל�'לות סבל� ות (abide, endure, put up with, stand), לסבול (bear, endure, smart, stand, stomach, suffer). (various references)

Hungarian		elvisel (abide, bear, bore, borne, endure, stood, suffer, sustain, to abide, to bear, to comport, to endure, to stand, to stomach, to support, to take it, to tolerate, undergo), eltûr (bear, Brook, countenance). (various references)

Icelandic		þola (abide, bear, endure, put up with, suffer). (various references)

Italian		tollerare (abide, bear, endure, overlook, put, put up with, stand, stomach, suffer, support), sopportare (abide, acquiesce, bear, bear with, bide, endure, meet, meet with, persevere, put, put up with, stand, stand for, stay, stomach, suffer, support, survival, sustain, to survive, undergo, weather). (various references)

Japanese Kanji		入れる (to admit, to bring in, to cast, to commit, to comprehend, to employ, to include, to insert, to introduce, to let in, to listen to, to pay, to put in, to set, to take in, to tolerate, to usher in), 大目に見る (to condone, to let pass, to overlook, to tolerate). (various references)

Japanese Katakana		おおめにみる (to condone, to let pass, to overlook, to tolerate), いれる (to admit, to bring in, to cast, to commit, to comprehend, to employ, to include, to insert, to introduce, to let in, to listen to, to pay, to put in, to put into, to set, to take in, to tolerate, to usher in). (various references)

Korean		간대히 다루십시�". (various references)

Manx		surral (allow, endure, permit, suffer), fuillaghtyn (endurance, forbear, permit, put up, suffer, sufferance), fuillagh (put up with, suffer). (various references)

Norwegian		tåle (abide, endure, put up with). (various references)

Papiamen		tolerá (abide, endure, put up with), soportá (abide, endure, put up with). (various references)

Pig Latin		oleratetay

Portuguese		tolerar (abide, admit, bear with, bide, brook, carry out, endure, forbear, have, indulge, put up with, receive, stand for, suffer, sustain, swallow, wink at), suportar (abet, abide, back, back up, bear, bear out, brace, carry out, dree, endure, lean, put up with, suffer, support, sustain, upbear, uphold), agüentar (abide, bear, bear up, bear with, carry out, endure, put up with, stand, stand up to, suffer, support, sustain, upbear, withstand). (various references)

Romanian		tolera (admit, allow, allow of, bear, endure, get over, indulge, permit, stand, suffer, support), suporta (abide, bear, bear with, digest, endure, forbear, stand, stick, stomach, suffer, support, sustain), admite (accept, acknowledge, admit, adopt, allow, allow of, appoint, approve, assume, avow, Brook, concede, confess, contain, enter, grant, receive, suffer, take for granted, vouchsafe), îngãdui (allow, grant, indulge in, let, permit). (various references)

Russian		терпеть (abide, bear, digest, do with, endure, put up with, stand). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian		tolerisati (countenance), podnositi (do with, endure, put up with, support), dopustiti (agree, allow, concede, permit). (various references)

Spanish		tolerar (abide, countenance, endure, have, live, put up with, stand). (various references)

Swedish		tåla (abide, bear, brook, endure, hold, put up with, stand, suffer), tolerera (countenance). (various references)

Turkish		tahammül etmek (be patient of, last out, put up with, take), müsamaha etmek, katlanmak (abide, accept, bear, Brook, crease, digest, do with, double, endure, face, face up to, go through, grin and bear it, last out, lump, lump it, put up with, sit down under, stand, stand the racket, stick, stick it, stick out, stomach, suffer, sustain, sweat out, take, take it, take one's medicine, undergo), hoşgörmek (connive, excuse, indulge, look with favour on, overlook, permit of), hazmetmek (accept, bear, digest, get over, pocket, stomach), göz yummak (blink, blink at, condone, connive, excuse, face up to, have, leave unnoticed, let smth. pass unchallenged, overlook, pass by, permit of, suffer, wink, wink at), dayanmak (abut, be based on, be predicated on, bear up, bear up against, bear with, Brook, consist, endure, found, go on, ground, hang, hang on, hinge on, hold, hold on, hold one's own, hold out, hold up, last, lean, lean upon, offer resistance, osculate, put up with, rely on, rely upon, repose, repose on, resist, rest, rest against, root in, stand, stand on, stand the racket, stand up, stand upon, stay, stick, stick it, stick out, survive, sweat out, take, take it, thole, trace, wear, withstand). (various references)

Ukrainian		терпіти (abide, bide, do with, forbear, sit down under, stomach), витримувати (age, bear, carry, carry off, hold up, last, live, sweat out, weather), бути терпимим, дозволяти (admit, admit of, allow, assent, authorize, bear, certify, consent, empower, let, licence, license, permit). (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

Language	Period	Translations
Latin	500 BCE-Modern	tolerare. (various references)
Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Derivations
	Words beginning with "tolerate": tolerated, tolerates. (additional references)
Misspellings
	"Tolerate" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: Oleracea, Polreath, talerate, toblerone, toleate, tolerace, tolerare, tolmeia. (additional references)
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

# of Phoneme Matches	Pronunciation	Word(s) rhyming with "tolerate" (pronounced tÄ"lerā't)
4	-l er ā' t	accelerate, decelerate, exhilarate.
3	-er ā' t	adulterate, agglomerate, ameliorate, collaborate, commemorate, commiserate, cooperate, corroborate, decorate, deteriorate, enumerate, evaporate, eviscerate, exaggerate, exasperate, exonerate, federate, generate, inaugurate, incarcerate, incinerate, incorporate, invigorate, lacerate, liberate, obliterate, operate, perforate, proliferate, recuperate, redecorate, refrigerate, regenerate, reincorporate, reinvigorate, reiterate, reverberate, saturate, separate, venerate.
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams
	Words within the letters "a-e-e-l-o-r-t-t"
	-2 letters: areole, elater, latter, letter, oleate, rattle, relate, rotate.
	-3 letters: alert, alter, arete, artel, eater, elate, laree, later, latte, lotte, oater, orate, ottar, otter, ratel, relet, rotte, taler, tarot, tater, telae, tetra, tolar, torte, total, toter, treat.
	-4 letters: aero, alee, aloe, alto, earl, late, lear, leer, leet, lore, lota, olea, oral, orle, rale, rate.
	Words containing the letters "a-e-e-l-o-r-t-t"
	+1 letter: tolerated, tolerates.
	+2 letters: allegretto, altogether, electorate, obliterate, reallotted, teetotaler, tolerative.
	+3 letters: allegrettos, altogethers, dilatometer, electorates, extrapolate, forgettable, interpolate, nonliterate, obliterated, obliterates, preallotted, teetotalers, teetotaller, tetralogies, theoretical.
	+4 letters: acetonitrile, antielectron, atheoretical, bachelorette, coelenterate, dilatometers, electroplate, enterostomal, extrapolated, extrapolates, extrasystole, interpolated, interpolates, meteoritical, nonliterates, obliterative, olfactometer, postliterate, repetitional, retinotectal, stenothermal, teetotallers, teratologies, tetrapyrrole, thermostable, throttleable.
	+5 letters: acetonitriles, antielectrons, bachelorettes, coelenterates, dilatometries, electromagnet, electroplated, electroplates, electrostatic, exterritorial, extrapolative, extrasystoles, forestallment, heterothallic, interpellator, interpolative, interrelation, intersocietal, nonretractile, northeasterly, olfactometers, overstimulate, overtalkative, retroactively, septentrional, softheartedly, southeasterly, stereotypical, teleportation, temporalities, tetartohedral, tetrachloride, tetrafluoride, tetraploidies, tetrapyrroles, theoretically, unforgettable, untheoretical, ventrolateral.
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.