English edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

palate +‎ -able

Pronunciation edit

  • (UK, US) IPA(key): /ˈpæl.ə.tə.bəl/
  • (file)

Adjective edit

palatable (comparative more palatable, superlative most palatable)

  1. Pleasing to the taste, tasty.
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:delicious
    Antonym: unpalatable
    For some instant noodles make a palatable, if not especially nutritious, meal.
    • 1896, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Household Papers and Stories[1]:
      The fermentation of flour by means of brewer’s or distiller’s yeast produces, if rightly managed, results far more palatable and wholesome.
  2. (figurative) Tolerable, acceptable.
    The agreement was palatable to both of them.
    • 1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], chapter X, in Pride and Prejudice: [], volume III, London: [] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, [], →OCLC, page 188:
      “I did hear, too, that there was a time, when sermon-making was not so palateable to you, as it seems to be at present; []
    • 2016 January 31, William D. Cohan, “Is Huma Abedin Hillary Clinton’s Secret Weapon or Her Next Big Problem?”, in Vanity Fair[2]:
      Whether it’s palatable for the vice-chairman of Hillary’s presidential campaign to be embroiled in allegations of conflicts of interest, obtaining patronage jobs, or misrepresenting time worked remains to be seen.
    • 2020 December 13, David Smith, “AOC's cooking live streams perfect the recipe for making politics palatable”, in The Guardian:
      AOC's [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] cooking live streams perfect the recipe for making politics palatable [title]
    • 2022 July 29, Lux Alptraum, “Women, the Game Is Rigged. It’s Time We Stop Playing by the Rules.”, in The New York Times[3], →ISSN:
      I first began thinking about how feminists might reject palatable, socially acceptable protests and strategies when I spoke with the artist Emma Sulkowicz, who is best known for her performance piece “Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight),” []

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