tolerable

adjective

tol·​er·​a·​ble ˈtä-lə-rə-bəl 

ˈtäl-rə-;

ˈtä-lər-bəl

1

: capable of being borne or endured

tolerable pain

2

: moderately good or agreeable : passable

a tolerable singing voice

tolerability

ˌtä-lə-rə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

ˌtäl-rə-

noun

tolerably

ˈtä-lə-rə-blē 

ˈtäl-rə-;

ˈtä-lər-blē

adverb

Synonyms

• bearable
• endurable
• sufferable
• supportable
• sustainable

Examples of tolerable in a Sentence

The heat was tolerable for only a short time.

stubbing your toe is at least a more tolerable pain than breaking your foot

Recent Examples on the Web

In the medium term, bitcoin may even save the U.S. from its over-reliance on the power of its money printer, which has caused political and market distortions that are no longer tolerable by a large swath of American voters and international interests. —Dave Birnbaum, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024

For some voters, the deluge is tolerable—like Kamala Harris supporter Robyn Beyah, who embraces the messages as part of her involvement. —Nina Turner, Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2024

Long walks and runs — which almost always aggravate the heels, knees, and lower back — were noticeably more tolerable with these inserts. —Shannon Ullman, Verywell Health, 10 Oct. 2024

A certain level of automation is tolerable in the dockworker industry, according to some European and U.S. union officials. —Doyinsola Oladipo, USA TODAY, 5 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

tolerable

adjective

tol·​er·​able

ˈtäl-(ə-)rə-bəl,

ˈtäl-ər-bəl

1

: capable of being put up with

tolerable pain

2

: fairly good

a tolerable singing voice

tolerably

-blē

adverb