English Reference
Adjective

palatable

adj.
C1 Advanced US /ˈpæɫətəbəɫ/ UK /pˈælətəbəl/ palat·able

adj.having a pleasant enough taste to eat or drink. It can also describe an idea or suggestion that is easy to accept.

adj.pleasant to the taste or acceptable to the mind. Often used figuratively to describe proposals or conditions that are satisfactory or agreeable.


SIMPLE

The chef made the healthy vegetables more palatable for the children.

CONTEXTUAL

The committee had to find a palatable compromise that both the union and the management would agree to sign.

COMPLEX

While the initial draft of the treaty was rejected, the revised version included enough concessions to make the terms palatable to the smaller member states.

Usage

Often used predicatively after linking verbs like 'find' or 'make'.

And the team is already working on making the cookies more palatable, with an eye toward the cookies being ready to eat in just a few years.

Ars Technica· 1 Sept 2026

Dimyan, understandably, can’t quite believe he has to pee on his MRE to activate the heat pack that will make it palatable.

The Guardian· 9 Aug 2026

From palate + -able.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Occasional
Updated