Adjacent Words

Bitter definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BIT'TER, a.
1. Sharp, or biting to the taste; acrid; like wormwood.
2. Sharp; cruel; severe; as bitter enmity. Hebrews 1.
3. Sharp, as words, reproachful; sarcastic.
4. Sharp to the feeling; piercing; painful; that makes to smart; as a bitter cold day, or a bitter blast.
5. Painful to the mind; calamitous; poignant; as a bitter fate.
6. Afflicted; distressed.
The Egyptians made their lives bitter. Exodus 1.
7. Hurtful; very sinful.
Is is an evil and bitter thing. Jeremiah 2.
8. Mournful; distressing; expressive of misory; as a bitter complaint or lamentation. Job 23. Jer
6:31.
BIT'TER, n. A substance that is bitter. [See Bitter.]
BIT'TER, n. [See Bitts.] In marine language, a turn of the cable which is round the bitts.
Bitter-end, that part of a cable which is abaft the bitts, and therefore within board, when the ship rides at anchor.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: marked by strong resentment or cynicism; "an acrimonious dispute"; "bitter about the divorce" [syn: acrimonious, bitter]
2: very difficult to accept or bear; "the bitter truth"; "a bitter sorrow"
3: harsh or corrosive in tone; "an acerbic tone piercing otherwise flowery prose"; "a barrage of acid comments"; "her acrid remarks make her many enemies"; "bitter words"; "blistering criticism"; "caustic jokes about political assassination, talk-show hosts and medical ethics"; "a sulfurous denunciation"; "a vitriolic critique" [syn: acerb, acerbic, acid, acrid, bitter, blistering, caustic, sulfurous, sulphurous, virulent, vitriolic]
4: expressive of severe grief or regret; "shed bitter tears"
5: proceeding from or exhibiting great hostility or animosity; "a bitter struggle"; "bitter enemies"
6: causing a sharp and acrid taste experience;"quinine is bitter"
7: causing a sharply painful or stinging sensation; used especially of cold; "bitter cold"; "a biting wind" [syn: biting, bitter] n
1: English term for a dry sharp-tasting ale with strong flavor of hops (usually on draft)
2: the taste experience when quinine or coffee is taken into the mouth [syn: bitter, bitterness]
3: the property of having a harsh unpleasant taste [syn: bitterness, bitter] v
1: make bitter adv
1: extremely and sharply; "it was bitterly cold"; "bitter cold" [syn: piercingly, bitterly, bitingly, bitter]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Old English biter; akin to Old High German bittar bitter, Old English b?tan to bite — more at bite Date: before 12th century 1. a. being or inducing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is peculiarly acrid, astringent, or disagreeable and suggestive of an infusion of hops — compare salt, sour, sweet b. distasteful or distressing to the mind ; galling <a bitter sense of shame> 2. marked by intensity or severity: a. accompanied by severe pain or suffering <a bitter death> b. being relentlessly determined ; vehement <a bitter partisan> c. exhibiting intense animosity <bitter enemies> d. (1) harshly reproachful <bitter complaints> (2) marked by cynicism and rancor <bitter contempt> e. intensely unpleasant especially in coldness or rawness <a bitter wind> 3. expressive of severe pain, grief, or regret <bitter tears> • bitterish adjective • bitterly adverb • bitterness noun II. noun Date: before 12th century 1. bitter quality 2. a. plural a usually alcoholic solution of bitter and often aromatic plant products used especially in preparing mixed drinks or as a mild tonic b. British a very dry heavily hopped ale III. transitive verb Date: 12th century to make bitter <bittered ale> IV. adverb Date: 1749 to a bitter degree <it's bitter cold>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 having a sharp pungent taste; not sweet. 2 a caused by or showing mental pain or resentment (bitter memories; bitter rejoinder). b painful or difficult to accept (bitter disappointment). 3 a harsh; virulent (bitter animosity). b piercingly cold. --n. 1 Brit. beer strongly flavoured with hops and having a bitter taste. 2 (in pl.) liquor with a bitter flavour (esp. of wormwood) used as an additive in cocktails. Phrases and idioms: bitter-apple = COLOCYNTH. bitter orange = SEVILLE ORANGE. bitter pill something unpleasant that has to be accepted. bitter-sweet adj. 1 sweet with a bitter after-taste. 2 arousing pleasure tinged with pain or sorrow. --n. 1 a sweetness with a bitter after-taste. b pleasure tinged with pain or sorrow. 2 = woody nightshade (see NIGHTSHADE). to the bitter end to the very end in spite of difficulties. Derivatives: bitterly adv. bitterness n. Etymology: OE biter prob. f. Gmc: to the bitter end may be assoc. with a Naut. word bitter = 'last part of a cable': see BITTS

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bitter Bit"ter, n. [See Bitts.] (Naut.) AA turn of the cable which is round the bitts. Bitter end, that part of a cable which is abaft the bitts, and so within board, when the ship rides at anchor.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bitter Bit"ter, a. [AS. biter; akin to Goth. baitrs, Icel. bitr, Dan., Sw., D., & G. bitter, OS. bittar, fr. root of E. bite. See Bite, v. t.] 1. Having a peculiar, acrid, biting taste, like that of wormwood or an infusion of hops; as, a bitter medicine; bitter as aloes. 2. Causing pain or smart; piercing; painful; sharp; severe; as, a bitter cold day. 3. Causing, or fitted to cause, pain or distress to the mind; calamitous; poignant. It is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God. --Jer. ii. 19. 4. Characterized by sharpness, severity, or cruelty; harsh; stern; virulent; as, bitter reproach. Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. --Col. iii. 19. 5. Mournful; sad; distressing; painful; pitiable. The Egyptians . . . made their lives bitter with hard bondage. --Ex. i. 14. Bitter apple, Bitter cucumber, Bitter gourd. (Bot.) See Colocynth. Bitter cress (Bot.), a plant of the genus Cardamine, esp. C. amara. Bitter earth (Min.), tale earth; calcined magnesia. Bitter principles (Chem.), a class of substances, extracted from vegetable products, having strong bitter taste but with no sharply defined chemical characteristics. Bitter salt, Epsom salts; magnesium sulphate. Bitter vetch (Bot.), a name given to two European leguminous herbs, Vicia Orobus and Ervum Ervilia. To the bitter end, to the last extremity, however calamitous. Syn: Acrid; sharp; harsh; pungent; stinging; cutting; severe; acrimonious.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bitter Bit"ter, n. Any substance that is bitter. See Bitters.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Bitter Bit"ter, v. t. To make bitter. --Wolcott.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(bitterest, bitters) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. In a bitter argument or conflict, people argue very angrily or fight very fiercely. ...the scene of bitter fighting during the Second World War. ...a bitter attack on the Government's failure to support manufacturing... ADJ • bitterly Any such thing would be bitterly opposed by most of the world's democracies. ...a bitterly fought football match. ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj • bitterness The rift within the organization reflects the growing bitterness of the dispute. N-UNCOUNT 2. If someone is bitter after a disappointing experience or after being treated unfairly, they continue to feel angry about it. She is said to be very bitter about the way she was sacked... His long life was marked by bitter personal and political memories. ADJ • bitterly 'And he sure didn't help us,' Grant said bitterly. ...the party bureaucrats who bitterly resented their loss of power. ADV: usu ADV with v, also ADV adj • bitterness I still feel bitterness and anger towards the person who knocked me down. N-UNCOUNT 3. A bitter experience makes you feel very disappointed. You can also use bitter to emphasize feelings of disappointment. I think the decision was a bitter blow from which he never quite recovered... The statement was greeted with bitter disappointment by many of the other delegates. ADJ: usu ADJ n • bitterly I was bitterly disappointed to have lost yet another race so near the finish. ADV: ADV adj, ADV with v 4. Bitter weather, or a bitter wind, is extremely cold. Outside, a bitter east wind was accompanied by flurries of snow. ADJ • bitterly It's been bitterly cold here in Moscow. ADV: ADV adj 5. A bitter taste is sharp, not sweet, and often slightly unpleasant. The leaves taste rather bitter. ? sweet ADJ 6. Bitter is a kind of beer that is light brown in colour. (BRIT) ...a pint of bitter. N-MASS 7. If you say that you will continue doing something to the bitter end, especially something difficult or unpleasant, you are emphasizing that you will continue doing it until it is completely finished. The guerrillas would fight to the bitter end, he said, in order to achieve their main goal. PHRASE: PHR after v [emphasis] 8. a bitter pill: see pill

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Bitterness is symbolical of affliction, misery, and servitude (Ex. 1:14; Ruth 1:20; Jer. 9:15). The Chaldeans are called the "bitter and hasty nation" (Hab. 1:6). The "gall of bitterness" expresses a state of great wickedness (Acts 8:23). A "root of bitterness" is a wicked person or a dangerous sin (Heb. 12:15).

The Passover was to be eaten with "bitter herbs" (Ex. 12:8; Num. 9:11). The kind of herbs so designated is not known. Probably they were any bitter herbs obtainable at the place and time when the Passover was celebrated. They represented the severity of the servitude under which the people groaned; and have been regarded also as typical of the sufferings of Christ.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Acrid, tasting like wormwood, like gall. 2. Fierce, savage, cruel, merciless, relentless, virulent, fell, ruthless, dire. 3. Severe, harsh, stern. 4. Distressing, painful, grievous, intense, sore, sorrowful, afflictive, poignant, calamitous.

Moby Thesaurus

Siberian, acerb, acerbate, acerbic, acid, acidic, acidulent, acidulous, acrid, acrimonious, affecting, afflictive, aftertaste, algid, alienated, amaroidal, annoying, antagonistic, antipathetic, arctic, asperous, astringent, austere, bad, belligerent, below zero, bilious, biting, bitter as gall, bitterly cold, bleak, boreal, brisk, brumal, brutal, burning, caustic, cheerless, choleric, clashing, coarse, cold, cold as charity, cold as death, cold as ice, cold as marble, colliding, comfortless, conflicting, corroding, corrosive, crisp, cruel, cutting, deplorable, depressing, depressive, despiteful, disagreeable, discomforting, dislikable, dismal, dismaying, dispiriting, displeasing, distasteful, distressful, distressing, disturbing, divided, dolorific, dolorogenic, dolorous, double-edged, dreary, dyspeptic, edged, embittered, escharotic, estranged, fierce, flavor, freezing, freezing cold, frigid, full of hate, galling, gelid, glacial, grievous, gust, hard, harsh, hateful, hibernal, hiemal, hostile, hyperborean, ice-cold, ice-encrusted, icelike, icy, incisive, inclement, intemperate, irreconcilable, irritating, jaundiced, joyless, keen, lamentable, malevolent, malicious, malignant, miserable, mordacious, mordant, mournful, moving, nasty, nipping, nippy, nose-tickling, numbing, obnoxious, offensive, painful, palate, pathetic, penetrating, piercing, pinching, piquant, piteous, pitiable, poignant, provoking, pungent, quarrelsome, rancorous, rankled, raw, regrettable, relish, reproachful, repugnant, resentful, resenting, rigorous, rough, rueful, rugged, sad, saddening, salt, sapidity, sapor, savor, savoriness, scathing, scorching, set against, severe, sharp, sleety, slushy, smack, snappy, sore, sorrowful, sour, sour-tempered, soured, spiteful, splenetic, stabbing, stewing, stinging, stomach, stone-cold, strident, stringent, subzero, supercooled, sweet, tang, tart, taste, thankless, tongue, tooth, touching, trenchant, ugly, unalluring, unappealing, unappetizing, unattractive, uncomfortable, undelectable, undelicious, undesirable, unengaging, unenjoyable, uninviting, unkind, unlikable, unpalatable, unpleasant, unpleasing, unsavory, untasteful, unwelcome, vehement, venomous, vexatious, vicious, vinegarish, violent, virulent, vitriolic, winterbound, winterlike, wintery, wintry, withering, woebegone, woeful, wretched