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View synonyms for palate

palate

[ pal-it ]

noun

  1. Anatomy. the roof of the mouth, consisting of an anterior bony portion hard palate and a posterior muscular portion soft palate, orvelum that separate the oral cavity from the nasal cavity.
  2. the sense of taste:

    It was a dinner to delight the palate.

  3. intellectual or aesthetic taste; mental appreciation:

    She is said to have a discriminating palate for the arts.



verb (used with object)

  1. to find pleasing to the taste:

    My friend was very ill and could not palate much of anything.

  2. to find acceptable or agreeable to the mind or feelings:

    Your position is hard to palate, because I believe there is such a thing as objective morality.

palate

/ ˈpælɪt /

noun

  1. the roof of the mouth, separating the oral and nasal cavities See hard palate soft palate palatine
  2. the sense of taste

    she had no palate for the wine

  3. relish or enjoyment
  4. botany (in some two-lipped corollas) the projecting part of the lower lip that closes the opening of the corolla
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


palate

/ pălĭt /

  1. The roof of the mouth in vertebrate animals, separating the mouth from the passages of the nose.
  2. ◆ The bony part of the palate is called the hard palate.
  3. ◆ A soft, flexible, rear portion of the palate, called the soft palate, is present in mammals only and serves to close off the mouth from the nose during swallowing.


palate

  1. The roof of the mouth. The palate separates the mouth from the nasal cavity.


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Usage

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Notes

It is sometimes said that a person has a “cultivated palate” if he or she has a discerning taste for food.
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Other Words From

  • pal·ate·less adjective
  • pal·ate·like adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of palate1

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English palat, from Latin palātum “roof of the mouth”
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Word History and Origins

Origin of palate1

C14: from Latin palātum, perhaps of Etruscan origin
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Example Sentences

So then trust me when I say that this magical stack works even better in the morning, when your palate is primed and ready for its unique textural majesty.

From Eater

The very core of food culture is adaptation to new environments, new palates, new people, new ingredients — and these exchanges are not always peaceful or mutually beneficial.

From Eater

None of them should prevail on the other to create the perfect palate mix.

From Fortune

It is comfort food at its finest, a thing designed for your specific palate, with absolutely no thought paid to impressing anyone else.

From Eater

Sleeping out in the woods is a palate cleanser for your soul, whether you eat a soggy PB&J by the fire or whip up a four-course meal.

That means Japanese whiskies are beautifully balanced and elegant; they touch and develop on every sensor on the palate.

And your palate will change as you have new experiences and new selections in the wine world.

Oak, great balance and a good finish with stone fruits and just enough oak to round the wine to a silky smooth feel on the palate.

Sans country and opera, there is something for most every musical palate at Bonnaroo.

By 1987, however, the American palate was beginning to change.

The reading public was largely confined to young girls with the taste for romance fresh on the palate.

This one has a perforated palate, and this great copper-coloured patches on the forehead, all of them rickety.

The Right Spot, as related in the chapter on Ichthyol, is either the vault of the pharynx or the upper surface of the soft palate.

My cold and pain in my head increasing, and the palate of my mouth falling, I was in great pain all night.

So home, and late reading "The Siege of Rhodes" to my wife, and then to bed, my head being in great pain and my palate still down.

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Related Words

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Palate Vs. Palette Vs. Pallet

What’s the difference between palate, palette, and pallet?

The word palate refers to the roof of the mouth. More figuratively, palate can refer to a person’s particular sense of taste (as in the way they perceive flavors), or to a person’s general, intellectual taste (as in their specific preferences for things). A palette is that board that painters keep their paints on while painting (most traditionally, an oval one with a thumbhole for holding). The word pallet most commonly refers to a flat, square (often wood) platform used to hold goods for shipping (it’s sometimes called a skid).

All three of these words are pronounced exactly the same, and they’re always used as nouns.

The word palette is closely associated with art and color. It can also refer to a collection or range of colors or techniques. For example, the term color palette refers to a specific set of colors, such as the ones that a particular artist typically works with.

The word pallet can sometimes be used to refer to a painter’s palette, but this spelling is much less commonly used.

So how to keep all three spellings straight?

A palette is the thing a painter always keeps on hand—literally—while painting. In this way, you can think of a painter’s palette (which is spelled with one L) as a painter’s pal.

A pallet (ending in -let) is the platform that lets shippers easily transport goods.

Think of palate (ending in -ate) as a word related to what you ate.

Here’s an example of palate, palette, and pallet used correctly in a sentence.

Example: The art installation consists of wooden pallets painted in a vibrant palette of colors—it’s interesting, but it’s not quite suited to my palate. 

Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between palate, palette, and pallet.

Quiz yourself on palate vs. palette vs. pallet!

Should palate, palette, or pallet be used in the following sentence?

The designer is known for using a muted color _____.

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