bitter Hear it!

bitter Definition

bit·ter (bit′ər)

adjective

  1. designating or having a sharp, often unpleasant taste; acrid, as quinine or peach stones
  2. causing or showing sorrow, discomfort, or pain; grievous
  3. sharp and disagreeable; harsh; severe; piercing a bitter wind
  4. characterized by strong feelings of hatred, resentment, cynicism, etc.

Etymology: ME < OE biter, akin to bītan, bite

adverb

  1. in a way that is bitter; bitterly
  2. extremely it was bitter cold

noun

  1. a bitter quality or thing take the bitter with the sweet
  2. Brit. bitter, strongly hopped ale

transitive verb, intransitive verb

to make or become bitter

bitter Related Forms
bit′·terly adverb bit′·ter·ness noun
bitter Synonyms

bitter

modif.

  1. Acrid

    astringent, acid, tart, sharp; see sour 1.

  2. Intense

    sharp, harsh, severe; see intense.

  3. Sarcastic

    acrimonious, caustic, biting; see sarcastic.

  4. Painful

    grievous, hurtful, stinging, galling; see disturbing, painful 1.

  5. Embittered

    resentful, cynical, hostile, rancorous; see angry, unfriendly 2.

bitter Usage Examples

Preposition: about

  • way: Do you feel bitter about the way it worked out?

Modifying Another Word

  • slightly: They grow in closely packed rows on a tall, thick stalk, and have a pungent, slightly bitter flavor.
  • increasingly: But the whole problem has to be viewed in the context of increasingly bitter club versus country divide.
  • somewhat: But in his later years he has become, you know, somewhat bitter and vindictive.
  • extremely: Poisoning by the plant very rare due to its extremely bitter taste.
  • rather: Ruth Wilkin of Leeds University SU was rather bitter, It's quite clear that the North has the best universities in the country.
  • particularly: Ashton political life was particularly bitter in these years with Mason bearing the brunt of the Tory attack.

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • find: They may find coffee too bitter, soft drinks too sweet, and full cream milk too fatty.

Modifies a noun

  • pill: There was, however, one bitter pill to swallow.
  • disappointment: Despite his bitter disappointment, Baird continued his experimental work in color television.
  • aftertaste: However they find that the feast has a bitter aftertaste.
  • taste: A bitter taste in the mouth can take the pleasure out of eating.
  • rivalry: In their own churches they may have witnessed bitter rivalry among the elders.
  • feud: Julia Roberts has spoken to her mother for the first time in six months healing a bitter family feud.

Used with adjective complement

  • taste: Take care not to let the mixture burn or the stock will taste bitter.
  • feel: Would I forever feel bitter about not being a medic?
  • become: A lot of cops become bitter, I suppose, or to put it another way: cynical.
  • seem: He was aggressive, combative, sudden of quarrel, and he often seemed unnecessarily bitter of speech.
  • grow: Men obeyed their base immediate motives until the world grew unendurably bitter.
  • turn: It did not take long for the gipsy charm offensive to turn bitter.
bitter Quotes

Because It Is Bitter, And Because It Is My Heart.

—Myles na Gopaleen

Itook thelittlebookout of theangel'shand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

—Bible (NewTestament)

Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

—Bible (NewTestament)

It would be a bitter cosmic joke if we destroy ourselves due to atrophy of the imagination.

—Gellhorn, Martha Ellis

Marbles of the dancing floor Break bitter furies of complexity, Those images that yet Fresh images beget, That dolphin-torn, that gong-tormented sea.

—Yeats,W(illiam) B(utler)

Yea, is not even Apollo, with hair and harpstring of gold, A bitter God to follow, a beautiful God to behold?

—Swinburne, Algernon Charles

Amer savoir, celui qu'on tire du voyage! Bitter is the knowledge gained in travelling.

—Baudelaire, Charles

Sleep; and if life was bitter to thee, pardon, If sweet, give thanks; thou hast no more to live; And to give thanks isgood, and to forgive.

—Swinburne, Algernon Charles

We flee from Death's bitter cup; he follows, loving and fain.

—Abu'l-'Ala¤   Al-Ma'arri

Un soir, j'ai assis la Beaute¤   sur mes genoux.öEt je l'ai trouve¤  e ame'  re.öEt je l'ai injurie¤  e. One evening, I sat Beauty on my knees.öAnd I found her bitter.öAnd I hurt her.

—Rimbaud, (Jean Nicolas) Arthur

'It is bitteröbitter,' he answered; 'But I like it Because it is bitter, And because it is my heart.'

—Crane, Stephen

Children sweeten labours, but they make misfortunes more bitter.

—Bacon, Francis,Viscount St Albans

Difficilis facilis, iucundus acerbus es idem: Nec tecum possum vivere nec sine te. Difficult or easy, pleasant or bitter, you are the same: I cannot live with youöor without you.

—Martial full name MarcusValerius Martialis

You gotta take the sour with the bitter.

—Goldwyn, Sam(uel) originally  Schmuel Gelbfisz

Yet each man kills the thing he loves, By each let this be heard, Some do it with a bitter look, Some with a flattering word. The coward does it with a kiss, The brave man with a sword!

—Wilde, Oscar Fingal O'FlahertieWills