Tolerability

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The measure of endurance that allows for acceptance of certain challenges or discomforts without severe repercussions
2. The ability to withstand or endure discomfort, difficulty, or adverse conditions without harmful effects
3. A measure of how much unpleasant or challenging stimuli can be endured calmly or without damage

Etymology: Tolerability is a plain formation: English "tolerate" with the suffix "-ability" attached. The suffix itself has a longer ancestry than the base verb. It descends from Latin "-abilitas," which was built from "-abilis," a formation meaning "able to be" something, as in "-ābilis" with the "-ā-" stem vowel of a verb. That Latin suffix passed into Middle French as "-abilité" and then into Middle English as "-ablete," before English settled on the modern "-ability" ending. The Latin ancestry lies behind the whole word, but the word itself is English. "Tolerate" was itself borrowed from Latin "tolerare," meaning to bear or endure, so "tolerability" is best understood as a native English noun that combines a Latin-derived verb with a Latin-derived suffix. Its sense of enduring challenges without serious harm follows naturally from "tolerate," which has always meant to put up with something.

Synonyms: acceptability, bearability, endurance, stability, resistance

Antonyms: intolerance, unacceptability, unbearability