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

Meanwhile, Kennedy appears to have gone to great lengths to sand down his extremist views and present himself as a more palatable candidate. —Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2025

Eager to move on from its disgruntled star, the Heat has been cautiously optimistic about finding a palatable trade to move Jimmy Butler before the Feb. 6 trade deadline and has been engaging several teams beyond Phoenix, which has had difficulty facilitating a deal. —Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 28 Jan. 2025

Research shows that even a single night of sleep deprivation can increase hunger-promoting hormones and the desire for highly palatable foods, like sweets.13 Experts recommend that adults get at least seven hours of sleep per night for optimal health.14 5. —Jillian Kubala, Health, 27 Jan. 2025

No, not the most auspicious of starts, with three fouls in the opening 1:58, but still an acknowledgement by coach Erik Spoelstra of the possibilities of something more palatable in a wing rotation that has seen Jaime Jaquez Jr. regress and Terry Rozier disappear. —Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 24 Jan. 2025

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