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

Though the actors are given very little to work with, feelings of anguish, betrayal, longing and desire are all palatable. —Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 17 Jan. 2025

He’s played well enough that the resource allocation is palatable. —Mike Kaye, Charlotte Observer, 9 Jan. 2025

When the team served foods that were calorie-dense but less palatable, participants still ate about eight hundred calories more. —Dhruv Khullar, The New Yorker, 6 Jan. 2025

Facing a lack of potency, others on the left are trying a newer strategy that seeks to merge some of their more palatable progressive goals with areas of populism favored by Trump. —Hanna Trudo, The Hill, 2 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