bit·ter
(bĭt́ər)
[Middle English, from Old English.]
adjective: -er, -est.
- Having or being a taste that is sharp, acrid, and unpleasant.
- Causing a sharply unpleasant, painful, or stinging sensation; harsh: enveloped in bitter cold; a bitter wind.
- Difficult or distasteful to accept, admit, or bear: the bitter truth; bitter sorrow.
- Proceeding from or exhibiting strong animosity: a bitter struggle; bitter foes.
- Resulting from or expressive of severe grief, anguish, or disappointment: cried bitter tears.
- Marked by resentment or cynicism: “He was already a bitter elderly man with a gray face” (John Dos Passos)
adverb
- In an intense or harsh way; bitterly: a bitter cold night.
transitive verb: -tered, -ter·ing, -ters.
- To make bitter.
noun
- That which is bitter: “all words . . . /Failing to give the bitter of the sweet” (Tennyson)
- A bitter, usually alcoholic liquid made with herbs or roots and used in cocktails or as a tonic.
- Chiefly British A sharp-tasting beer made with hops.
derivatives
- bit́ter·ly
- adverb
- bit́ter·ness
- noun
synonyms:
bitter, acerbic, acrid These adjectives mean unpleasantly sharp or pungent in taste or smell: a bitter cough syrup; an acerbic green apple; acrid smoke.
