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bittersweet
The definition of bittersweet is a combination of both bitter and sweet, or an emotional feeling that is a mixture of both happy and sad.
(adjective)- An example of bittersweet is chocolate made with only a small amount of sugar.
- An example of bittersweet is graduation from college.
Bittersweet is defined as a climbing plant in the nightshade family or Celastrus genus, or the emotion that joins joy and sadness.
(noun)- An example of bittersweet is a woody nightshade vine with small orange fruits.
- An example of bittersweet is the state of ending college.
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See bittersweet in Webster's New World College Dictionary
noun
- ☆ a North American twining woody vine (Celastrus scandens) of the staff-tree family, with poisonous leaves, and bearing clusters of small orange fruits with bright-red fleshy seeds
- a poisonous, climbing European vine (Solanum dulcamara) of the nightshade family, with purple flowers and red berries, now widely found as a weed in North America
- bitterness and sweetness combined
- pleasure mixed with overtones of sadness
adjective
- both bitter and sweet, as dark chocolate made with little sugar
- pleasant with overtones of sadness
See bittersweet in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun
- A woody vine of the genus Celastrus, especially the North American species C. scandens and the eastern Asian species C. orbiculata, having small, round, yellow-orange fruits that open at maturity to expose red seeds. Also called staff tree.
- See bittersweet nightshade.
- A dark to deep reddish orange.
- Bitter and sweet at the same time: bittersweet chocolate.
- Producing or expressing a mixture of pain and pleasure: a movie with a bittersweet ending.
- Dark to deep reddish-orange.
Origin:
Origin: After its roots, which are said to taste bitter, then sweet when chewed
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