BITTER

acrimonious, bitter

(adjective) marked by strong resentment or cynicism; “an acrimonious dispute”; “bitter about the divorce”

bitter

(adjective) proceeding from or exhibiting great hostility or animosity; “a bitter struggle”; “bitter enemies”

bitter

(adjective) expressive of severe grief or regret; “shed bitter tears”

biting, bitter

(adjective) causing a sharply painful or stinging sensation; used especially of cold; “bitter cold”; “a biting wind”

acerb, acerbic, acid, acrid, bitter, blistering, caustic, sulfurous, sulphurous, virulent, vitriolic

(adjective) 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”

bitter

(adjective) causing a sharp and acrid taste experience; “quinine is bitter”

bitter

(adjective) very difficult to accept or bear; “the bitter truth”; “a bitter sorrow”

piercingly, bitterly, bitingly, bitter

(adverb) extremely and sharply; “it was bitterly cold”; “bitter cold”

bitterness, bitter

(noun) the property of having a harsh unpleasant taste

bitter, bitterness

(noun) the taste experience when quinine or coffee is taken into the mouth

bitter

(noun) English term for a dry sharp-tasting ale with strong flavor of hops (usually on draft)

bitter

(verb) make bitter

Source: WordNet® 3.1

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Etymology 1

Adjective

bitter (comparative bitterer or more bitter, superlative bitterest or most bitter)

Having an acrid taste (usually from a basic substance).

Harsh, piercing or stinging.

Hateful or hostile.

Cynical and resentful.

Usage notes

• The one-word comparative form bitterer and superlative form bitterest exist, but are less common than their two-word counterparts more bitter and most bitter.

Synonyms

• (cynical and resentful): jaded

Antonyms

• (cynical and resentful): optimistic

Noun

bitter (countable and uncountable, plural bitters)

(usually in the plural bitters) A liquid or powder, made from bitter herbs, used in mixed drinks or as a tonic.

A type of beer heavily flavored with hops.

(nautical) A turn of a cable about the bitts.

Synonyms

• (beer): English pale ale, EPA

Verb

bitter (third-person singular simple present bitters, present participle bittering, simple past and past participle bittered)

To make bitter.

Etymology 2

Noun

bitter (plural bitters)

(computing, informal, in combination) A hardware system whose architecture is based around units of the specified number of bits (binary digits).

Source: Wiktionary

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Bit"ter, n. Etym: [See Bitts.] (Naut.)

Definition: 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.

Bit"ter, a. Etym: [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.

Bit"ter, n.

Definition: Any substance that is bitter. See Bitters.

Bit"ter, v. t.

Definition: To make bitter. Wolcott.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition

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