tolerable

/ˈtɒlərəbl/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈtɑːlərəbl/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈtä-lə-rə-bəl ˈtäl-rə-; ˈtä-lər-bəl/ (ame, mw)

tolerable — adjective

  • tolerablepositive
  • more tolerablecomparative
  • most tolerablesuperlative

1. acceptable or fairly good, but not excellent or impressive — for example, a hote

1.形容詞B1
釋義

acceptable or fairly good, but not excellent or impressive — for example, a hotel room that is clean enough to sleep in but nothing special, or a meal that is edible but not tasty.

例句

The hotel breakfast was tolerable, though the coffee tasted burnt.

collocation: tolerable breakfast / tolerable meal

Mei-Ling described her exam results as tolerable — enough to pass the course.

opinion frame: describe + as + tolerable

同義詞
  • acceptable

    more neutral and more common; 'tolerable' implies you are putting up with something less than ideal

  • passable

    focuses on meeting the minimum standard; often used for skills or work quality

  • adequate

    focuses on sufficiency for a purpose rather than comparative quality

反義詞
  • unacceptable

    stronger opposite; describes something that cannot be allowed or approved

文法句型

tolerable + noun

find/consider + noun + tolerable

用法筆記

This sense typically describes objects, experiences, or results, not people. Saying 'a tolerable person' is old-fashioned and can cause confusion with 'tolerant'.

常見錯誤

❌She is a tolerable colleague' (when meaning she is accepting of others).
✅She is a tolerant colleague.
💡'tolerable' describes quality; 'tolerant' describes willingness to accept differences.
❌The pain was tolerable but I still went to the doctor.
✅The pain was bearable but I still went to the doctor.
💡For physical suffering, sense 2 ('bearable') is more natural.

2. painful, unpleasant, or difficult enough to endure without giving up or collapsi

2.形容詞B2
釋義

painful, unpleasant, or difficult enough to endure without giving up or collapsing — for example, a headache that is bad enough to notice but not bad enough to stop working, or a hot afternoon that is uncomfortable but not dangerous.

例句

With strong painkillers, the discomfort after the operation was tolerable.

medical context: tolerable + pain / discomfort / heat

Deepa found the humidity tolerable once she moved near the open window.

conditional: tolerable once / as long as

同義詞
  • bearable

    more common in everyday speech; 'tolerable' is slightly more formal

  • endurable

    stronger emphasis on the difficulty of lasting through something

  • sufferable

    rare in modern English; very formal or literary

反義詞
  • intolerable

    direct opposite; describes something too extreme to endure

  • unbearable

    stronger opposite; more common in everyday speech

文法句型

tolerable + noun

find + noun + tolerable

barely / just tolerable

用法筆記

Frequently used with 'barely' or 'just' to emphasise that something is at the edge of what can be endured. Common with physical sensations (pain, heat, cold, noise, discomfort). Distinguish from sense 1 (‘ACCEPTABLE QUALITY’), which judges quality; this sense judges endurance of difficulty.

常見錯誤

❌The restaurant was tolerable for my wheat allergy.
✅The restaurant was tolerable for a person with a wheat allergy.
💡This sense works for situations/conditions, not for people directly.