the action or faculty of tasting. The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste. Taste, or more formally gustation, is a form of direct chemoreception and is one of the five traditional senses. Taste, or gustation, is a sense that develops through the interaction of dissolved molecules with taste buds. Gustation definition, the act of tasting. Gustation definition is - the act or sensation of tasting.