Tolerance & Intolerance Spectrum: From Embracing to Genocidal — A Graded Thesaurus of Acceptance and Prejudice
EMBRACING [ɪmˈbreɪsɪŋ] 🟢▶▶▶
Accepting or supporting something willingly or enthusiastically.
Goes beyond tolerance to active acceptance and celebration.
ACCEPTING [əkˈseptɪŋ] 🟢▶▶
Tolerant, especially of views, beliefs, or practices that differ from one’s own.
A welcoming and open reception of difference.
OPEN-MINDED [ˌoʊpən ˈmaɪndɪd] 🟢▶
Willing to consider new ideas; unprejudiced.
An active intellectual receptiveness to different perspectives.
TOLERANT [ˈtɑːlərənt] 🟢
The standard term for showing willingness to allow the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with.
The neutral, all-purpose word for putting up with difference.
BROAD-MINDED [ˌbrɔːd ˈmaɪndɪd] 🟢
Tolerant of the views and behavior of others; liberal-minded.
A generous and liberal capacity for tolerance.
CATHOLIC [ˈkæθlɪk] 🟢
(With a lower-case ‘c’) including a wide variety of things; all-embracing; universal.
A broad, comprehensive taste or tolerance.
PATIENT [ˈpeɪʃnt] 🟢
Able to accept or tolerate delays, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.
Tolerance demonstrated through calm endurance.
FORBEARING [fɔːrˈberɪŋ] 🟢
Patient and self-controlled; restrained.
A patient tolerance under provocation.
INDULGENT [ɪnˈdʌldʒənt] 🟢
Having or indicating a readiness or over-readiness to be tolerant to someone, especially to allow self-indulgence.
A lenient, often overly generous, tolerance.
EASYGOING [ˌiːziˈɡoʊɪŋ] 🟢
Relaxed and tolerant in approach or manner.
A placid, not easily upset tolerance.
PERMISSIVE [pərˈmɪsɪv] 🟢
Allowing or characterized by great or excessive freedom of behavior.
A policy of tolerance, often with few restrictions.
LIBERAL [ˈlɪbərəl] 🟢
Willing to respect or accept behavior or opinions different from one’s own; open to new ideas.
A political or social philosophy favoring tolerance and progress.
LAID-BACK [ˌleɪd ˈbæk] 🟢
Relaxed and easy-going.
An informal, casual tolerance.
NONJUDGMENTAL [ˌnɑːnˌdʒʌdʒˈmentl] 🟢
Avoiding judgments based on one’s personal standards or opinions.
A conscious withholding of judgment.
NEUTRAL [ˈnuːtrəl] 🔵
Not supporting or helping either side; having no strong feeling.
A position of non-judgment, not taking a stand.
AMBIVALENT [æmˈbɪvələnt] 🔵
Having mixed feelings or contradictory ideas about something or someone.
Simultaneous tolerance and intolerance, resulting in uncertainty.
IMPATIENT [ɪmˈpeɪʃnt] 🟣
Having or showing a tendency to be quickly irritated or provoked; restless.
A low threshold for frustration with differences or delays.
JUDGMENTAL [dʒʌdʒˈmentl] 🟣
Having or displaying an overly critical point of view.
A tendency to form and express critical judgments.
NARROW-MINDED [ˌnæroʊ ˈmaɪndɪd] 🟣
Not willing to listen to or tolerate other people’s views; prejudiced.
A limited perspective that is resistant to new ideas.
INTOLERANT [ɪnˈtɑːlərənt] 🟣
The standard term for unwillingness to accept views, beliefs, or behavior that differ from one’s own.
The direct, neutral antonym of “tolerant.”
BIGOTED [ˈbɪɡətɪd] 🟣
Obstinately or unreasonably attached to a belief, opinion, or faction, in particular prejudiced against or antagonistic toward a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular group.
Intolerance rooted in prejudice against specific groups.
PREJUDICED [ˈpredʒədɪst] 🟣
Having or showing a dislike or distrust that is derived from prejudice; bigoted.
Preconceived opinions that lead to intolerance.
DOGMATIC [dɔːɡˈmætɪk] 🟣▶
Inclined to lay down principles as incontrovertibly true; opinionated.
An authoritarian intolerance of other viewpoints.
ZEALOUS [ˈzeləs] 🟣▶
Having or showing great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or objective.
An intense, often fanatical, intolerance for opposing views.
XENOPHOBIC [ˌzenəˈfoʊbɪk] 🟣▶
Having or showing a dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries.
Intolerance specifically directed at foreigners.
SUPREMACIST [sʊˈpreməsɪst] 🟣▶▶
An advocate of the supremacy of a particular group, especially one determined by race or sex.
An ideology of intolerance based on perceived superiority.
CHAUVINISTIC [ˌʃoʊvɪˈnɪstɪk] 🟣▶▶
Feeling or displaying aggressive or exaggerated patriotism; exaggerated or aggressive belief in one’s own group’s superiority.
An arrogant, bellicose intolerance.
GENOCIDAL [ˌdʒenəˈsaɪdl] 🟣▶▶▶
Relating to or involving the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.
The most extreme, violent, and final form of intolerance.
PURITANICAL [ˌpjʊrɪˈtænɪkəl] 🟣▶▶▶
Practicing or affecting strict religious or moral behavior; rigidly austere.
An extreme, rigid intolerance of any perceived immorality or impurity.
