Inflected forms: bit·ter·er, bit·ter·est 1. Having or being a taste that is sharp, acrid, and unpleasant. 2. Causing a sharply unpleasant, painful, or stinging sensation; harsh: enveloped in bitter cold; a bitter wind.3. Difficult or distasteful to accept, admit, or bear: the bitter truth; bitter sorrow.4. Proceeding from or exhibiting strong animosity: a bitter struggle; bitter foes.5. Resulting from or expressive of severe grief, anguish, or disappointment: cried bitter tears.6. 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:
Inflected forms: bit·tered, bit·ter·ing, bit·ters To make bitter.
NOUN:
1. That which is bitter: “all words . . . /Failing to give the bitter of the sweet” (Tennyson). 2.bitters A bitter, usually alcoholic liquid made with herbs or roots and used in cocktails or as a tonic. 3.Chiefly British A sharp-tasting beer made with hops.
ETYMOLOGY:
Middle English, from Old English. See bheid- in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS:
bitter·ly —ADVERB bitter·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.
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