unpalatable

[uhn-pal-uh-tuh-buhl]

adjective

1. not palatable; unpleasant to the taste.

2. disagreeable or unacceptable; obnoxious.

   unpalatable behavior.

unpalatable

/ ʌnˈpælətəbəl /

adjective

1. unpleasant to taste

2. difficult to accept

   the unpalatable truth

Other Word Forms

• unpalatability noun
• unpalatably adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of unpalatable¹

First recorded in 1675–85; un- ¹ + palatable

Example Sentences

The first is unfeasible — there isn’t that much land — and the other, a new high-rise canyon, would be unpalatable.

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For critics, the prospect of a Labour government taking away social security payments from some sick and disabled people is at best unpalatable and at worst unconscionable.

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Meanwhile, the Palestinian national movement remains divided and dysfunctional, giving Palestinians an unpalatable choice between Hamas and the aging president of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.

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"The previous government left us with an unpalatable inheritance in that respect," Pennycook said.

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With big and potentially unpalatable trade-offs looming, what alternatives could there be?

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Related Words

• disagreeable 
• distasteful 
• unappetizing 
• unpleasant 
• unsavory