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

The calculus by which people assessed the event was now colored with the underlying beliefs people held about the healthcare industry—and that's when the dark and sinister nature of the shooting evolved into something more palatable for many. —Dr. Marcus Collins, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024

The compromise came in the form of two ‘coefficient places’, spots reserved for teams from those leagues that performed best across Europe’s three competitions in the previous season: a more palatable option, but nevertheless an obvious sop to the same vested interests. —Sam Lee, The Athletic, 12 Dec. 2024

Even with his flaws, the flaws are still very palatable. —Antonia Blyth, Deadline, 11 Dec. 2024

In a polarized French parliament, few figures for the next PM seem palatable, yet fewer still appear likely to be successful. —Joseph Ataman, CNN, 5 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1662, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

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