delectable
Americanadjective
-
delightful; highly pleasing; enjoyable.
a delectable witticism.
- Synonyms:
- entertaining, amusing, agreeable, gratifying, pleasurable
- Antonyms:
- distasteful, disagreeable
-
delicious.
a delectable dinner.
- Antonyms:
- distasteful, disagreeable
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
- delectability noun
- delectableness noun
- delectably adverb
- undelectable adjective
- undelectably adverb
Etymology
Origin of delectable
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin dēlectābilis delightful, equivalent to dēlectā ( re ) to delight (frequentative of dēlicere to entice) + -bilis -ble
Explanation
Something delectable is extremely delicious or appealing. Nothing tastes better at the end of a meal than an array of delectable desserts and pastries! Don't let the de- at the beginning of delectable fool you. There is nothing negative about this word. Related to delicious through the Latin word for delight, if something is delectable, it is very tasty! Maybe your mom has promised you a delectable dinner of lobster and steak for your birthday meal?
Vocabulary lists containing delectable
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Prisoner B-3087
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Based in Paris, David Lebovitz has been giving us delectable recipes for more than 25 years.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
The friends at my kitchen counter landed on some delectable gossip—the kind nobody would dare utter at a public cafe, much less print in a national newspaper.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 7, 2025
At its simplest, freshly cut corn straight off the cob is perfectly delectable.
From Salon • Aug. 5, 2025
Later, Nan, describing the type of play her mother favored when she first came to New York, allows Greenberg to indulge in some delectable self-irony.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 8, 2025
Better to abstain from the gardens of delectable delights than to be stuck planting them, dawn to dusk.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
