zero tolerance
noun
Simple meaning
The strict policy of enforcing law or the rule, and allowing no toleration or compromise even for first-time offenders or petty violations.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
zihrohtahleruhnsSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈzɪɹoʊtɑlɚəns
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The strict policy of enforcing law(s) or the rule(s), and allowing no toleration or compromise even for first-time offenders or petty violations.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The strict policy of enforcing law(s) or the rule(s), and allowing no toleration or compromise even for first-time offenders or petty violations.
Used this way, zero tolerance is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a legal use: the wording is institutional and carries a defined meaning in law rather than a loose everyday one.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Law/legal
- Government/politics
- Academic writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.