Which to use
“tolerable” is an adjective and “tolerance” is a noun - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.
- #25,235
- “tolerable” frequency rank
- #6,530
- “tolerance” frequency rank
- 31765
- confusion score
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | tolerable | tolerance |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Capable of being borne, tolerated or endured; bearable or endurable. | The ability to endure pain or hardship; endurance. |
Where the eye mixes tolerable and tolerance
Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 7 letters in sequence.
Why the eye confuses tolerable with tolerance
These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: tolerable is /ˈtɑləɹəbl̩/ while tolerance is /ˈtɒl.ə.ɹəns/. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions, and the parts of speech differ too (adjective vs noun), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 31765, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.
tolerable is recorded at frequency rank #25,235, classified as anadj, pronounced /ˈtɑləɹəbl̩/. tolerance is at rank #6,530, tagged as anoun, pronounced /ˈtɒl.ə.ɹəns/.
Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.
With a confusion score of 31765, this pair ranks #343,428 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - roughly mid-pack for confusability.
Orthographic DNA of tolerable vs tolerance
Shared letters: aelort. Private to "tolerable": b. Private to "tolerance": cn.
"tolerable" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCV · "tolerance" · 9 letters · shape CVCVCVCCV
Known mistypes of this pair
Frequently Asked Questions
Is swapping "tolerable" for "tolerance" ever safe?
Which is more common, "tolerable" or "tolerance"?
After this comparison
Pronunciation already separates them, if the page still looks alike, the dictionary links below settle it.
- Full dictionary entry for "tolerable" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
- Full dictionary entry for "tolerance" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
- This pair ranks #343,428 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
- "tolerable" and "tolerance" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "tolerance vs tolerances". Nearby pair
- Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes
Confusion rank #343,428 of 530,003 scored English pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.