palatable

American  

[pal-uh-tuh-buhl] / ˈpæl ə tə bəl /

adjective

1. acceptable or agreeable to the palate or taste; savory.

   palatable food.

   Synonyms:

   delectable, delicious

   Antonyms:

   distasteful, tasteless, unsavory, unpalatable

2. acceptable or agreeable to the mind or feelings.

   palatable ideas.

   Synonyms:

   satisfactory, pleasing

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palatable British  

/ ˈpælətəbəl /

adjective

1. pleasant to taste

2. acceptable or satisfactory

   a palatable suggestion

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Synonym Usage

Palatable, appetizing, tasty, savory all refer to tastes or aromas pleasing to the palate and in some cases to the olfactory nerves. Palatable has the least positive connotation of these terms, often referring to food that is merely acceptable and not especially good: a palatable, if undistinguished, main course; a barely palatable mixture of overcooked vegetables. Appetizing suggests stimulation of the appetite by the smell, taste of food, and is the only one of these words that can also refer to food pleasing to the eye: the appetizing aroma of baking bread; the table contained an appetizing display of meats, cheeses, and salads. Tasty refers to food that has a notable or especially appealing taste: mixed with bits of a tasty sausage; an especially tasty sauce. Savory refers most often to well or highly seasoned foods and applies to their appeal in both taste and smell: a savory, succulent roast of beef, spiced with slivers of garlic; the savory aroma of a simmering duck sauce.

Other Word Forms

• palatability
  noun
• palatableness
  noun
• nonpalatable
  adjective
• nonpalatably
  adverb
• palatably
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of palatable

First recorded in 1660–70; palate + -able

Explanation

Something that is palatable is acceptable to one’s sense of taste—literally or figuratively. If it's palatable, then you can put up with it — whether it's leftovers or a mediocre made-for-TV movie. The palate is the roof of the mouth, the combination of structures that separates the mouth from the nose. Early anatomists believed that the sense of taste was located in the palate, and, just as taste is metaphorically expanded to include sensibilities beyond the experience of food and drink, so palatable can be used to describe phenomena beyond the culinary. And, while palatable can mean pleasing or agreeable, it generally means merely tolerable—edible, rather than delicious.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

palatable

"How Amazon have treated unions and workers isn't particularly palatable," Roberts said.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

And that has made the game more palatable and popular for a public that can now relate to it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2026

They are proposing a slightly more palatable version of it.

From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026

Dusky farmerfish in East Asia grow “crops” of red algae by assiduously “weeding out less palatable foods” and have effectively domesticated a type of shrimp whose waste fertilizes the algae and boosts yields.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

She was like the palatable little dolls we played with as children—mango seeds that we drew faces on and then called by our nicknames.

From "Krik? Krak!" by Edwidge Danticat

Related Words

• acceptable
• agreeable
• appetizing
• attractive
• delicious
• enjoyable
• pleasant
• satisfactory
• tempting