SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
intolerant
adjective
Unwilling to accept views, behavior, or people regarded as different or objectionable.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Unwilling to accept differences
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topIntolerant describes unwillingness to permit or accept differences; inflexible is broader.
RELATED FORMS, ONE FEATURED ENTRY
The intolerant family
These forms are closely related, but their grammar and use are not identical. Expand a form to compare its meaning and examples.
intolerancenoun
An unwillingness to accept beliefs, behavior, or people different from one's own.
Refusal to accept differences
Closest synonyms
Related expressions
The essay examines how intolerance prevents an honest exchange of ideas.
Intolerance appeared in a proposal to exclude members merely because they defended a different view of what an exhibition could include.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See intolerant in use
An intolerant response cut off discussion before the visitor could explain her idea.
An intolerant club president refused to share meals with members whose customary food she disliked, even when they asked only to eat their own lunches.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license