palatable

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adjective pal·at·able \ ˈpa-lə-tə-bəl \

Definition of palatable

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

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palatability

play \ˌpa-lə-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē\ noun

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palatableness

noun

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palatably

play \ˈpa-lə-tə-blē\ adverb

See palatable defined for English-language learners

See palatable defined for kids

palatable was our Word of the Day on 03/10/2016. Hear the podcast!

Examples of palatable in a Sentence

a less than palatable beer
I did not find the idea of moving again very palatable.

Recent Examples of palatable from the Web

Lessons learned could inform improved due diligence for future contract negotiations, or the structure could be more palatable through State control ( toll authority).

— charlotteobserver, "Charlotte’s District 4 City Council candidates give their views on 4 key issues," 23 Aug. 2017
His blackness was palatable, while theirs was deemed a threat.

— brittney cooper, Cosmopolitan, "Get Off Kamala Harris's Back," 7 Aug. 2017
Shay’s bitterness with her lot in life is palatable.

— jean marie brown, star-telegram, "Flawed characters find joy in ‘Any Dream Will Do’," 1 Aug. 2017
Hill Republicans have had seven years to come up with a workable, palatable alternative to Obamacare.

— michelle cottle, The Atlantic, "Mitch McConnell's Heavy Health-Care Lift," 16 July 2017
For repressive governments, criminal-defamation laws can provide a more palatable way to silence critics than locking them up.

— The Economist, "Defamation laws are necessary. But they must be narrowly drawn," 13 July 2017
One Republican political strategist explained to me that what made Trump palatable to McCain—despite everything McCain dislikes about the man—

— sarah ellison, The Hive, "A Definitive Guide to the G.O.P. Insiders Enabling Donald Trump," 11 July 2017
The new head of FS1 will have to figure out how to make the synergy between Fox Sports’s remote or event production (the group that produces live sporting events) and FS1’s studio shows more palatable.

— richard deitsch, SI.com, "Fox Sports not planning to tone down the noise after Jamie Horowitz's firing," 6 July 2017
And the contestants were off, deciding how to use the somewhat unrelated ingredients to make a palatable breakfast.

— janelle walker, Elgin Courier-News, "Hanover Township seniors competition based on Food Network's 'Chopped'," 3 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'palatable.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

How Should You Use palatable?

Palatable comes from palate, a Latin-derived word for the roof of the mouth. 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." Palatable has been used in English to refer to palate-pleasing foods since 1619, but it isn't our only—or our oldest—adjective for agreeable tastes. Savory dates from the 14th century. Toothsome has been around since 1551. Tasty was first used in the early 17th century. And appetizing has been gracing culinary reviews since 1653.

First Known Use of palatable

1662

palatable Synonyms

Synonyms

agreeable, all right, alright, copacetic (also copasetic or copesetic), ducky, fine, good, hunky-dory, jake [slang], OK (or okay), satisfactory

Antonyms

disagreeable, unsatisfactory

Related Words

delectable, delicious, delightful, dreamy, felicitous, gratifying, nice, pleasant, pleasing, scrumptious, welcome; acceptable, adequate, decent, passable, tolerable

Near Antonyms

bad, deficient, inferior, lousy, poor, punk, substandard, unacceptable, wanting, wretched; mediocre, middling, second-class, second-rate

Synonym Discussion of 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

PALATABLE Defined for English Language Learners

palatable

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adjective

Definition of palatable for English Language Learners

: having a pleasant or agreeable taste
: pleasant or acceptable to someone

PALATABLE Defined for Kids

palatable

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adjective pal·at·able \ ˈpa-lə-tə-bəl \

Definition of palatable for Students

:pleasant to the taste

Learn More about palatable

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for palatable Spanish Central: Translation of palatable Nglish: Translation of palatable for Spanish speakers

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palatable

Definition of palatable

palatability

palatableness

palatably

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palatable was our Word of the Day on 03/10/2016. Hear the podcast!

Examples of palatable in a Sentence

Recent Examples of palatable from the Web

How Should You Use palatable?

First Known Use of palatable

palatable Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

Synonym Discussion of palatable

PALATABLE Defined for English Language Learners

palatable

Definition of palatable for English Language Learners

PALATABLE Defined for Kids

palatable

Definition of palatable for Students

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