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tolerance

American  
[tol-er-uhns] / ˈtɒl ər əns /

noun

  1. a fair, respectful, and permissive attitude or policy toward people whose opinions, beliefs, practices, racial or ethnic origins, etc., differ from one’s own or from those of the majority; freedom from bigotry and from an insistence on conformity.

    In this multiracial, multicultural school, students are taught tolerance and respect for those different from themselves.

    Recent changes in the country’s legislation show greater tolerance for religious diversity.

    Synonyms:
    impartiality, liberality
  2. interest in, concern for, and openness toward ideas, opinions, practices, etc., that are different from one’s own; a liberal, undogmatic attitude.

    Tolerance presupposes taking the other's perspective, not just being aware of it.

    Mine is a job that rewards curiosity and tolerance—an exploratory spirit with respect to new ideas.

  3. the act or capacity of enduring; endurance.

    I have a very low tolerance for noise and excitement.

    Of course pain is subjective, because everyone has their own level of pain tolerance.

    Synonyms:
    forbearance, patience
  4. the act of passively allowing something, especially something wrong, by failing to prevent or stop it; toleration.

    There will be no tolerance of abusive language in this workplace.

  5. Medicine/Medical, Immunology, Biology.

    1. the power of enduring or resisting the action of a drug, poison, pollutant, or biological stressor, as in

      Patients exhibiting morphine tolerance require higher doses over time in order to achieve the same pain relief.

      The project aims to develop a variety of sorghum with superior drought and salinity tolerance.

    2. the lack of or low levels of immune response to transplanted tissue or other foreign substance that is normally immunogenic.

      The lab studies the fundamental mechanisms of transplant rejection and transplant tolerance, with a goal to help patients avoid the need for lifelong immunosuppressive drugs.

  6. Machinery.

    1. the permissible range of variation in a dimension of an object.

    2. the permissible variation of an object or objects in some characteristic such as hardness, weight, or quantity.

  7. Also called allowanceCoining. a permissible deviation in the fineness and weight of coin, owing to the difficulty of securing exact conformity to the standard prescribed by law.


tolerance British  
/ ˈtɒlərəns /

noun

  1. the state or quality of being tolerant

  2. capacity to endure something, esp pain or hardship

  3. the permitted variation in some measurement or other characteristic of an object or workpiece

  4. physiol the capacity of an organism to endure the effects of a poison or other substance, esp after it has been taken over a prolonged period

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Related Words

Tolerance , toleration agree in allowing the right of something that one does not approve. Tolerance suggests a liberal spirit toward the views and actions of others: tolerance toward religious minorities. Toleration implies the allowance or sufferance of conduct with which one is not in accord: toleration of graft.

Other Word Forms

  • nontolerance noun
  • overtolerance noun

Etymology

Origin of tolerance

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English tol(l)eraunce, from Old French tol(l)erance, from Medieval Latin tollerantia, from Latin tolerantia; tolerant, -ance

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

While Beijing has recently signaled more tolerance for a stronger yuan, Chinese officials have also frequently warned against bumpy currency fluctuations that could hurt exporters.

From The Wall Street Journal

A spokesperson for Beast Industries, the entertainment company founded by MrBeast, said it "has no tolerance for this behaviour, whether by contestants or our own employees".

From BBC

Schulman did most of the talking, thanking the usual suspects and the academy “for embracing our film about love and about tolerance, about truth.”

From Los Angeles Times

"Export markets demand zero tolerance on pests. Even if inspectors find a single fruit fly, the entire consignment is discarded, leading to huge losses," he says.

From BBC

Yale University finance professor James Choi recently developed a formula that recommends an asset allocation based in part on your age, income, savings and risk tolerance.

From The Wall Street Journal