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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Related Words

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

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

It might end in something more palatable than a sweep — maybe they win a game? — but it’s going to end, and soon, and the Lakers need to reinforce their priorities before it does.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

Together with Flea’s bass line, it creates a universally palatable sound that you don’t necessarily have to listen to closely to understand its positivity.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026

To make their jumbo deals palatable to the most possible investors, big companies are splitting up their deals into more pieces than ever before.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

The group listed Anthropic’s Claude as a more palatable chatbot option.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 2, 2026

And at this level of experience one’s bitterness begins to be palatable, and hatred becomes too heavy a sack to carry.

From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin

Related Words

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