verb

dulden

tolerate

Etwas aushalten oder geschehen lassen, obwohl es stört oder nicht gut ist.

Definition & meaning

dulden means to tolerate, put up with, or endure something unpleasant or unwelcome. It can also mean to permit or allow something, often without approving of it.

The word often suggests reluctant acceptance: someone allows a situation to continue even though they may dislike it.

Grammar & word origin

dulden is a regular, transitive verb: it usually takes a direct object.

Present: duldet
Simple past: duldete
Past participle: geduldet
Perfect tense: hat geduldet

It comes from an older Germanic verb meaning “to endure” or “to suffer.” It has no commonly used separable prefix.

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms:

ertragen — “to endure”; emphasizes bearing something difficult or painful.
hinnehmen — “to accept” or “put up with”; often suggests resignation.
tolerieren — “to tolerate”; more formal and often used for views, behavior, or differences.
gestatten — “to permit”; focuses on granting permission rather than reluctantly accepting something.

Antonyms:

verbieten — “to forbid”; the clearest opposite when dulden means “to allow.”
zurückweisen — “to reject”; opposes accepting or tolerating something.
sich widersetzen [?](vocabuo://word/sich widersetzen) — “to resist”; describes actively opposing something rather than allowing it.

Common phrases & collocations

etwas dulden [?](vocabuo://word/etwas dulden) — to tolerate or allow something
keinen Widerspruch dulden [?](vocabuo://word/keinen Widerspruch dulden) — to tolerate no contradiction
Missstände dulden [?](vocabuo://word/Missstände dulden) — to tolerate abuses or unacceptable conditions
nicht länger dulden [?](vocabuo://word/nicht länger dulden) — to tolerate no longer