1
general::
verb allow sth you do not like ADV. barely | merely She actually seemed pleased to see him: most of her visitors she merely tolerated. | grudgingly | officially Union activity was officially tolerated but strongly discouraged. | no longer The government is not prepared to tolerate this situation any longer. VERB + TOLERATE be unable to, (not) be prepared to, (not) be willing to, cannot/could not, find sth difficult to, will/would not I will not tolerate this behaviour! not be affected by difficult conditions ADV. readily, well This plant prefers alkaline soil, though it will readily tolerate some acidity. She tolerated the chemotherapy well. VERB + TOLERATE be unable to, cannot/could not, find/make sth difficult to, will/would not people whose eye condition makes it difficult to tolerate bright light
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
2
general::
tolerate
verb [ transitive ] to accept unpleasant behaviour or an unpleasant situation, even though you do not like it:
• We will not tolerate any kind of racism. • People tolerated corruption for years.
put up with something
to accept unpleasant behaviour or an unpleasant situation even though you do not like it. Put up with is less formal than tolerate , and is the usual word to use in everyday English:
• I don’t see how you can put up with the constant noise. • Many people put up with poor pay and working conditions because they are afraid of losing their jobs.
accept
verb [ transitive ] to agree or deal with a situation you do not like but cannot change:
• She found it hard to accept his death.
stand/bear
verb [ transitive , not in progressive ] to accept or be forced to accept an unpleasant situation – used especially about things which cause you pain or make you feel upset. Bear is more formal than stand:
• I don’t know how you’ve stood it for so long. • Maisie couldn’t bear the pain any longer. • How do you stand living in such a mess?
take
verb [ transitive ] informal to accept an unpleasant situation or someone’s unpleasant behaviour without becoming upset:
• She was shouting at him and he just stood there and took it. • I can’t take much more of this.
live with something
to accept a bad situation as a permanent part of your life that you cannot change:
• I’ve had back pain for many years and I’ve just learned to live with it. • The guilt I felt was very hard to live with.
endure
verb [ transitive ] written to accept an unpleasant or difficult situation for a long time:
• The victims of this war have endured tremendous pain and suffering. • The refugees endured cramped and filthy conditions.
Longman-Thesaurus