Definition of PALATABLE

Other Words from palatable

palatability \ ˌpa-lə-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē

\ noun

palatableness noun

palatably \ ˈpa-lə-tə-blē

\ adverb

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

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.

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

The first daughter and senior adviser to President Donald Trump has often attempted to soften his image, providing a more palatable packaging to the extreme ideas coming out of the White House. — Andrea González-ramírez, refinery29.com, "Here Is Where Ivanka Trump Is More Popular Than Her Dad," 20 June 2019 On a parallel track, two senior senators — Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) — have privately begun conversations about potential revisions to asylum laws that would be palatable to both parties. — Washington Post, "Senate committee overwhelmingly approves $4.6 billion in emergency border spending," 19 June 2019 To his astonishment, the pilot beer proved more than palatable. — Emma Simmons, al.com, "Local homebrew clubs bring community to beer lovers," 18 June 2019 If the Royals truly believe Nicky Lopez is the second baseman of the future then trading Merrifield becomes more palatable. — Sam Mellinger, kansascity, "Mellinger Minutes: Bobby Witt Jr., Ned Yost, Patrick Mahomes and dad’n," 4 June 2019 Not all of these ideas were palatable — the conference’s foray into ice hockey has been lamentable — but most have been wildly successful. — John Shipley, Twin Cities, "John Shipley: Under Jim Delany, Big Ten grew into a beast," 5 June 2019 The company has made designing for Chrome and ignoring everything else a bit more palatable, and Mozilla's continued existence is now that bit more marginal. — Peter Bright, Ars Technica, "Google isn’t the company that we should have handed the Web over to," 17 Dec. 2018 But for squeamish seafood lovers who are already worried about causing undue pain to lobsters, destroying their brains may sound less palatable than boiling them alive. — Gaby Del Valle, Vox, "The owner of a Maine lobster pound is sedating her lobsters with marijuana before killing them.," 19 Sep. 2018 Forget midi ponytails and super-slicked, nape-of-the-neck knots—this summer's most palatable updo is all about buoyancy. — Calin Van Paris, Vogue, "Jessica Alba, Kim Kardashian West, and More Prove the "I Dream of Jeanie" Hairstyle Is Back," 25 July 2018

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.