palatable

adjective

pal·​at·​able ˈpa-lə-tə-bəl 

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

ˌpa-lə-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

palatableness noun

palatably

ˈpa-lə-tə-blē 

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."

Synonyms

• agreeable
• all right
• alright
• copacetic
• copasetic
• copesetic
• ducky
• fine
• good
• hunky-dory
• jake [slang]
• OK
• okay
• satisfactory

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

An attempt at sanitizing nuclear war into a seemingly more palatable event. —Annie Jacobsen, TIME, 11 Apr. 2024

Movie stars only, please, working with directors who could safely deliver something palatable to the mainstream. —Jia Tolentino, The New Yorker, 8 Apr. 2024

Do not lean to the golden rule; instead, use an equity lens to package your communications in a palatable way for the receiver. —Simone E. Morris, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024

But this policy lever, even if politically palatable to U.S. voters, has built-in limitations. —Simon Montlake, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Mar. 2024

To make the six-figure offer more palatable, Suiter said the city has added a signing bonus that — for the right candidate — is negotiable. —Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 26 Mar. 2024

Her joy while dancing is palatable, especially when sharing her native Classical Chinese dance. —Heide Janssen, Orange County Register, 17 Mar. 2024

But Highsmith went a step further by refusing to narratively discipline her criminal to make the experiment morally palatable. —Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 4 Apr. 2024

Wolfe insisted toward the beginning of the show, manifesting a fantasy of more palatable performing conditions. —Chris Willman, Variety, 31 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1662, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

palatable

adjective

pal·​at·​able ˈpal-ət-ə-bəl 

1

: agreeable to the taste

2

: agreeable sense 1, acceptable

palatability

ˌpal-ət-ə-ˈbil-ət-ē 

noun

palatably

ˈpal-ət-ə-blē 

adverb