taste

I

(New American Roget's College Thesaurus)

I

v. savor; sample. —n. flavor; tasting, morsel, sample; predilection, relish, preference; judgment.See taste, choice.

II

Sense of flavor

Nouns

1. taste, tastefulness; good or cultivated taste; delicacy, refinement, tact, finesse, flair; nicety, discrimination; distinction, polish, elegance; virtu, connoisseurship, dilettantism; fine art; culture, cultivation, fastidiousness; esthetics. See fashion, intelligence, judgment.

2. (something tasted) sample; tinge, bit, trace, scrap, soupçon; tasting, gustation, degustation; palate, tongue, tooth, stomach. See part, littleness.

3. (taste quality) flavor, gusto, savor, zest; sapor, sapidity, aftertaste, tang; savoriness, tastiness, palatability; unsavoriness, unpalatability, austerity, insipidity; sweetness; sourness, acidity, acerbity; pungency.

4. seasoning, condiment; spice, relish; tidbit, dainty, delicacy, morsel, appetizer, hors d'oeuvres, antipasto, delicatessen; sauce; ambrosia; nectar; rue, hemlock, myrrh, aloes, gall and wormwood. See food.

5. man of taste, connoisseur; epicure, gourmet; judge, critic, virtuoso; amateur, dilettante. See judgment.

Verbs

1. have good taste, appreciate, have an eye for; judge, criticize, discriminate, distinguish, particularize; single out, draw the line, sift, estimate, weigh, consider, diagnose; pick and choose, split hairs, know which is which.

2. savor, taste, sample; relish, like, enjoy, smack the lips; tickle the palate; turn the stomach, disgust; pall, stale, spoil; sour, curdle, ferment, turn.

3. season, spice, garnish.

Adjectives

1. in good taste; tasteful, unaffected, pure, chaste, classical, cultivated, refined; dainty, delicate, aesthetic, artistic; meticulous, precise, exact, precious; elegant; euphemistic; choosy, fussy; astute, keen; fastidious, finicky, finical, crotchety, per[s]nickety, squeamish; [over]nice, particular, discriminating, discriminative, discerning, perceptive; to one's taste, after one's fancy; comme il faut, de rigueur. Informal, picky.

2. tasty, flavorful, toothsome, sapid, saporific; palatable, gustable, gustatory, tastable; pungent, strong; flavored, spicy, hot; sweet, sour, salt[y], bitter, nutty; savory, unsavory.

Adverbs — tastefully, elegantly; purely, aesthetically, etc.

Phrases — every man to his [own] taste; the style is the man; there is no accounting for tastes.

Quotation — They never taste who always drink (Matthew Prior).

Antonyms, see vulgarity, insipidity, neglect, disorder.

II

(Roget's IV) n.

1. [The sense that detects flavor]

Syn. tongue, taste buds, palate, gustation, goût (French).

2. [The quality detected by taste, sense 1]

Syn. flavor, savor, savoriness, sapidity, aftertaste, palatableness, tang, piquancy, suggestion, zip*, wallop*, ginger*, kick*, smack*, bang*, jolt*, oomph*, drive*, nuttiness*, zing*, punch*.

The four basic sensations of taste are: sweet, sour, bitter, and salty.

3. [Judgment, especially esthetic judgment]

Syn. discrimination, susceptibility, appreciation, good taste, discernment, acumen, penetration, acuteness, feeling, refinement, appreciation; see also judgment 1 .

4. [Preference]

Syn. tendency, leaning, affection, attachment; see inclination 1 .

• in bad taste,

Syn. pretentious, rude, crass; see tasteless 2 .

• in good taste,

Syn. delicate, pleasing, refined; see tasteful 2 .

• to one's taste,

Syn. pleasing, satisfying, appealing; see pleasant

v.

1. [To experience flavor]

Syn. relish, savor, smack one's lips, chew, eat, bite, enjoy.

2. [To test by the tongue]

Syn. sip, try, touch, sample, lick, suck, roll over in the mouth, partake of; see also examine 2 .

3. [To recognize by flavor]

Syn. sense, savor, distinguish; see know 3 .

4. [To experience]

Syn. feel, perceive, know; see undergo .

III

(Roget's 3 Superthesaurus)

I

n.

1. flavor flavoring, savor, tang, sensation, bite, *kick, piquancy, zing, zip, aftertaste, saltiness, sweetness, sourness.

2. sample spoonful, bite, mouthful, sip, bit, morsel, touch.

3. preference liking, leaning, fancy, predilection, penchant, love, affection, partiality.

4. good judgment fashion sense, discrimination, sense of style, discernment, cultivation, refinement, feeling, tasteful-ness, grace. ''A fine judgment in discerning art.''—Horace.

II

v.

sample, savor, relish, discern, try, eat.

IV

(Roget's Thesaurus II) I verb 1. To have a particular flavor or suggestion of something: savor, smack2, smell, suggest. See SUGGEST. 2. To undergo an emotional reaction: experience, feel, have, know, savor. See FEELINGS. 3. To participate in or partake of personally. Also used with of: experience, feel, go through, have, know, meet1 (with), see, suffer, undergo. Archaic: prove. Idiom: run up against. See PARTICIPATE. II noun 1. A desire for food or drink: appetite, hunger, stomach, thirst. See DESIRE. 2. A distinctive property of a substance affecting the gustatory sense: flavor, relish, sapor, savor, smack2, tang, zest. See TASTE. 3. A limited or anticipatory experience: foretaste, sample. See FORESIGHT. 4. A slight amount or indication: breath, dash, ghost, hair, hint, intimation, semblance, shade, shadow, soupçon, streak, suggestion, suspicion, tinge, touch, trace, whiff, whisper. Informal: whisker. See BIG, SHOW. 5. A liking : appetite, fondness, partiality, preference, relish, weakness. See LIKE. 6. The faculty or sense of discerning what is aesthetically pleasing or appropriate: taste-fulness. See STYLE.