Word.ws English Dictionary

acquired taste

acquired taste noun: a taste which is not natural or innate, but which has developed through habit or learning.

Noun

acquired taste (plural acquired tastes)

  1. A taste which is not natural or innate, but which has developed through habit or learning.
    • Like many another Italian War hero, young Dino Grandi had turned to the post-War Fascist movement to satisfy an acquired taste for action.1939 July 24, “Italy: Home Again”, in Time
    • Curiosity and ambition require that we discuss acquired taste. Acquired taste is distinguished from discovered taste. Discovered tastes are those which may be considered innate, basic, or automatic, such as those tastes for bland, salty, […]2018, Joshua Zeunert, Tim Waterman, Routledge Handbook of Landscape and Food, Routledge, →ISBN
    Antonyms:
    natural taste
  2. (idiomatic) Something that is appreciated only after having initially been regarded as unappealing or unpleasant; a person who is regarded as difficult or dislikable but of whom at least some have grown to approve.
    • Since most adults do not share this director's unquenchable optimism, even his best movies tend to be an acquired taste.1978 May 29, Frank Rich, “Cinema: Joyride”, in Time
    • This research seemed to suggest that the product's acquired taste which they had been fuelling could also be a latent disadvantage. The advertising campaign implied that Guinness was an acquired taste for the discerning drinker; […]1998, Joe Nicholas, John Price, Advanced Studies in Media, Nelson Thornes, →ISBN, page 177

Examples of acquired taste in a sentence

  • NBA Hall of Famer Arnold "Red" Auerbach was an acquired taste for most people who had to deal with him on a regular basis.2006 October 30, Phil Elderkin, “Red Auerbach, an off-court legend”, in Christian Science Monitor, retrieved 30 Aug 2009:
  • Farzan, who eats as many as 100 pawpaws a year in various dishes, acknowledged that the flavor is an acquired taste.2023 September 29, Molly Fitzpatrick, “He’s the Pawpaw King of Brooklyn. (What’s a Pawpaw?)”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Antonyms of acquired taste

  • natural taste

Forms of acquired taste

pluralacquired tastes

Questions about acquired taste

What does acquired taste mean?
Acquired taste means a taste which is not natural or innate, but which has developed through habit or learning.
How do you use acquired taste in a sentence?
NBA Hall of Famer Arnold "Red" Auerbach was an acquired taste for most people who had to deal with him on a regular basis.
What part of speech is acquired taste?
Acquired taste is a noun.
What is the plural of acquired taste?
The plural of acquired taste is acquired tastes.

Words near acquired taste in the dictionary

  1. acquired disorder
  2. acquired disorders
  3. acquired immune deficiency syndrome
  4. acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
  5. acquired immunodeficiency syndromes
  6. acquired taste
  7. acquired tastes
  8. acquiree
  9. acquirees
  10. acquirement
  11. acquirements

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: acquired taste (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-acquired taste.ogg.

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