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How should you use palatable?
It may be a coincidence that you can’t spell the word palatable without all of the letters in plate (the two words are etymologically unrelated), but this fact may help you remember that palatable is synonymous with a host of words that can describe an enjoyable meal, from tasty to toothsome. Alternatively, you could just stick your finger in your mouth and touch the roof of your mouth, aka your palate. As the palate was once considered the seat of one’s sense of taste, so the word palate eventually came to refer to both a literal and figurative sense of taste (as in “architecture too ornate for my palate”). The adjective palatable arose from palate (via the now-rare verb palate defined in our Unabridged dictionary as “to taste or relish”) in the 17th century, and functions similarly. Seasonings from adobo to za’atar make food more palatable, certainly, but ideas and advice can be made more palatable, too. As a wise woman once sang, a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.
Cite this Entry
“Palatable.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/palatable. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.
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