gustatory perception
- noun
- /ˈɡʌstəˌtɔri pərˈsɛpʃən/
- Specialized
- A loss of gustatory perception can significantly impact a person's enjoyment of food.
Examples
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Children often have sharper gustatory perception than adults, making them sensitive to bitter tastes.
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Certain medical conditions can diminish a person's gustatory perception.
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The wine tasting relied heavily on his refined gustatory perception.
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The gustatory perception of chocolate is often described as rich and creamy.
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Many people enjoy the gustatory perception of spicy foods.
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Many chefs rely on their gustatory perception to create balanced flavors in their dishes.
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As I savored the meal, I appreciated the gustatory perception of each ingredient blending together.
Synonyms
A sense in the mouth that notices flavors like sweet and bitter
Ability to notice sweet, sour, bitter and salty flavors in your mouth
A feeling in the mouth when the tongue notices flavor
A sense that lets you taste and tell different flavors like sweet or bitter
The sense of taste when chemicals from food touch your tongue
Ability to notice and understand flavors in the mouth from food and drink
The ability to notice and name tastes like sweet, sour, bitter, and salty
Surface Forms
Morphology
gustatory + perception
The phrase is a straightforward adjective+noun composition: 'gustatory' means relating to taste and 'perception' means a sensation or awareness, so together they directly yield 'the sensation of taste.' This follows a common, cross-linguistic compositional pattern (adjective modifying a sensory noun), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would be able to infer the MWE meaning, even though 'gustatory' is somewhat formal vocabulary.
Etymology
Gustatory perception combines gustatory (an old word for 'taste') and perception (the act of 'noticing'). Imagine your tongue tasting food and your brain noticing the flavour, so the phrase means 'the sense of taste' today.