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

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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

Nowadays, his audaciously eccentric nature, along with his extreme promiscuity, is souring into something far less palatable: a litany of horrific accusations. —Raven Smith, Vogue, 16 Oct. 2024

Katie Bain: Again, no shade, but Coldplay’s sound has been more or less sonically consistent (bright, hopeful, sophisticated and pop-adjacent without ever being overly saccharine or overtly challenging) and thus generally palatable for a very wide, very global audience. —Katie Bain, Billboard, 15 Oct. 2024

Still, Cowboy Carter is seen as a culturally significant album and one that is an important, yet very palatable, lesson about the essential role of Black artists in country music’s history — which may carry some weight among voters. —Paul Grein, Billboard, 4 Oct. 2024

Despite Trump’s persistent misrepresentation that tariffs are paid by the target countries, politicians in the late 19th and early 20th centuries saw them as domestic taxes by another name — and more politically palatable. —Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 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