Tolerators

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who permit or accept the existence of something they may not agree with
2. Those who endure practices or behaviors without interference or active opposition
3. Persons who allow variations in beliefs or actions to coexist within a broader context without direct confrontation

Etymology: "Tolerators" is the plural of "tolerator," a noun built from the verb "tolerate" and the agent suffix "-or," which marks a person or thing that performs an action. A tolerator, then, is one who puts up with something. The plural simply names several such people at once. The verb "tolerate" comes from the Latin "tolerare," meaning "to bear" or "to endure," and the Latin root carries the sense of lifting or supporting a load. English speakers have long used "tolerate" for putting up with what one dislikes without necessarily approving of it, and the agent form follows naturally from that verb. The word therefore describes the act of enduring while stopping short of opposing.

Synonyms: endurers, sufferers, acceptors, bearers, withholders

Antonyms: intolerants, rejectors, refusers