tolerably

/ˈtɒlərəbli/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈtɑːlərəbli/ (ame, ipa) · /-əblē How to pronounce tolerably (audio) -li/ (ame, mw)

tolerably — adverb

1. at a level that is acceptable or adequate, though not excellent or outstanding

1.副詞B2
釋義

at a level that is acceptable or adequate, though not excellent or outstanding

例句

Greta speaks Spanish tolerably well, though she still struggles with past tenses.

tolerably + adjective (well) for skill level

The hotel room was tolerably clean, but the bathroom needed new tiles.

tolerably + adjective (clean) describing condition

同義詞
  • reasonably

    similar in meaning, but 'reasonably' is more common in everyday speech and can imply a more positive judgment

  • fairly

    more frequent and neutral; 'fairly' does not carry the nuance of 'just meeting a minimum standard'

  • moderately

    slightly more formal; emphasizes the middle point on a scale rather than the 'acceptable enough' quality

反義詞
  • unbearably

    opposite extreme — too unpleasant to accept, whereas 'tolerably' means just acceptable

文法句型

tolerably + adjective

verb + tolerably

用法筆記

Commonly pairs with adjectives describing quality or condition (well, clean, safe, accurate) to indicate a middling level that meets minimum expectations but does not impress.

常見錯誤

She tolerably speaks Spanish.
She speaks Spanish tolerably well.
💡Tolerably usually comes after the verb it modifies, not before it.