If something is bearable, it is hard or not nice — but you can live with it. You can get through it. The word does not mean the thing is fine. It means you will not break under it. People often put just or barely in front: 'The pain was just bearable.' That means it was only just on the right side of too much; one step worse and you could not stand it. You will hear it about pain, heat, noise, a long wait, a job, even a person you have to spend time with. Though actually, in everyday talk the opposite word, unbearable, is much more common. People rush to say they cannot stand something. They are slower to say they can. Bearable is a quiet, grown-up word, a little formal, but not stiff. Teachers and doctors use it. Young people use it too, just less often than 'I can deal with it' or 'it's not that bad.'