toleration

English

Etymology

From Middle French tolération, from Latin tolerātiōnem, from tolerāre (“to tolerate”). Compare tolerance.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA: /tɒləˈɹeɪʃən/

Noun

toleration (countable and uncountable; plural tolerations)

1. (obsolete) Endurance of evil, suffering etc.
2. The allowance of something not explicitly approved; tolerance, forbearance.
3. Specifically, the allowance by a government (or other ruling power) of the exercise of religion beyond the state established faith.
   • 2012, Faramerz Dabhoiwala, The Origins of Sex, Penguin 2013, p. 86:

     Above all, the establishment of toleration helped to weaken the presumption that plurality in matters of faith inevitably caused social disorder.