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

Did you know?

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Jiang Zemin quietly arrived in Beijing in the middle of the protests to succeed Zhao, in part because party elites saw Jiang as someone who was ideologically palatable to all sides but a hard-liner on repressing protest. Tyler Jost, Foreign Affairs, 4 Aug. 2025 But Democrats are also pleased with the news Lawler isn’t running, expecting that Stefanik, who doesn’t have Lawler’s moderate reputation and is closer to Trump, may be less palatable to voters in what is ultimately still a blue state. Jared Gans, The Hill, 24 July 2025 Last-minute amendments watered down initial requirements to produce annual impact assessments and mitigate algorithmic discrimination in an attempt to make the bill more palatable to the governor. Angela Eichhorst, Hartford Courant, 15 July 2025 Asking the committee for a few million dollars that will be used to leverage $20 million or $30 million in private donations is much more palatable than the current 60/40 split that has the state picking up most of the tab. The Denver Post Editorial Board, Denver Post, 14 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for palatable

Word History

First Known Use

1662, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of palatable was in 1662

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Palatable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/palatable. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.

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
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!