palatable

adjective

pal·​at·​able ˈpa-lə-tə-bəl How to pronounce palatable (audio)
1
: agreeable to the palate or taste
The restaurant's chicken dishes are quite palatable.
2
: agreeable or acceptable to the mind
attempted to make physics palatable to a broader range of students
palatability noun
palatableness noun
palatably adverb

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How should you use palatable?

Palatable comes from palate, a word for the roof of the mouth, which itself comes from Latin palatum. The palate was once thought of as the seat of the sense of taste, so the word eventually came to mean "sense of taste," or broadly, "liking."

Choose the Right Synonym for palatable

palatable, appetizing, savory, tasty, toothsome mean agreeable or pleasant especially to the sense of taste.

palatable often applies to something that is found to be merely agreeable.

butterflies that birds find palatable

appetizing suggests a whetting of the appetite and applies to aroma and appearance as well as taste.

appetizing hors d'oeuvres

savory applies to both taste and aroma and suggests piquancy and often spiciness.

dumplings with savory fillings

tasty implies a pronounced taste.

a tart and tasty pie

toothsome stresses the notion of agreeableness and sometimes implies tenderness or daintiness.

an enticing array of toothsome desserts

Examples of palatable in a Sentence

a less than palatable beer I did not find the idea of moving again very palatable.
Recent Examples on the Web More palatable rarities include pina colada, chocolate, peanut butter and jelly, and key lime pie. Tara Massouleh McCay, Southern Living, 6 Mar. 2024 What both sides agreed on, however, was that this clarifies the race between two remaining candidates with distinct platforms and visions, neither of which is palatable to the other. Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 5 Mar. 2024 There is a version of this book that might be more palatable to a broad readership: a version in which a traumatized war orphan’s friendship with a warmongering alien heals and redeems them both. Amal El-Mohtar, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2024 For some of those who don’t believe in climate change, or are politically opposed to action to address it, a conspiracy theory trying to lay blame on the storm to an unlikely, unseen, unproven force may seem more palatable than coming to terms to the visible effects of it. Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2024 Stuber, who joined the company in 2017, used his talent relations to make the streamer palatable to the Hollywood community. Kim Masters, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Feb. 2024 Early that year, the companies divested itself of 146 Albertsons, Vons, Pavilions and Safeway stores throughout California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada and Arizona, selling them to Haggen, a Pacific Northwest company, to make the merger more palatable to federal regulators. Suhauna Hussain, Los Angeles Times, 26 Feb. 2024 For Williams, making a movie in which no one worries whether grieving is palatable — a movie in which the reaction to death is aggressively, comically unpalatable — was cathartic. Melena Ryzik, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2024 The outline of an eventual deal that would be palatable to both sides is no secret, and one that has been known to all those involved who sincerely want a two-state solution. TIME, 20 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'palatable.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1662, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of palatable was in 1662

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Dictionary Entries Near palatable

Cite this Entry

“Palatable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/palatable. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

palatable

adjective
pal·​at·​able ˈpal-ət-ə-bəl How to pronounce palatable (audio)
1
: agreeable to the taste
2
palatability noun
palatably adverb

More from Merriam-Webster on palatable

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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