bitter
Language: English
Part of speech: adj
Pronunciation: ipa: /ˈbɪt.ə(ɹ)/
ipa: [ˈbɪt.ʰə]
ipa: [ˈbɪʔ.ə]
ipa: /ˈbɪ.tɚ/
ipa: [ˈbɪ.ɾɚ]
homophone: bidder stripped-by-parse_pron_post_template_fn
rhymes: -ɪtə(ɹ)
Forms: form: more bitter
form: bitterer
form: most bitter
form: bitterest
Etymology: From Middle English bitter, bittre, from Old English bitter, biter (“bitter”), from Proto-West Germanic *bitr, from Proto-Germanic *bitraz (“bitter”), equivalent to bite + -er (agent noun suffix) used attributively. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bitter, West Frisian bitter, Low German bitter, Dutch bitter, German bitter, Swedish bitter, Icelandic bitur (all meaning “bitter”).
Senses: examples: text: The coffee tasted bitter.
text: Long after his cigar burnt bitter, he sat with eyes fixed on the blaze. When the flames at last began to flicker and subside, his lids fluttered, then drooped; but he had lost all reckoning of time when he opened them again to find Miss Erroll in furs and ball-gown kneeling on the hearth[…].
ref: 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter III, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:
text: A few types of molecules get sensed by receptors on the tongue. Protons coming off of acids ping receptors for "sour." Sugars get received as "sweet." Bitter, salty, and the proteinaceous flavor umami all set off their own neural cascades.
ref: 2018 May 16, Adam Rogers, “The Fundamental Nihilism of Yanny vs. Laurel”, in Wired:
glosses: Having an acrid taste (usually from a basic substance).
examples: text: It was at the end of February, […] when the world was cold, and a bitter wind howled down the moors […].
ref: 1999, Neil Gaiman, Stardust, p.31 (Perennial paperback edition)
glosses: Harsh, piercing, acerbic or stinging.
examples: text: They're bitter enemies.
text: Tottenham have not won in the Premier League at Emirates Stadium for 12 years, with Arsenal losing just one of their last 29 home league games against their bitter rivals.
ref: 2022 October 1, Phil McNulty, “Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham: Gunners show identity & direction in outstanding derby win”, in BBC Sport:
text: He inveighed against the folly of making oneself liable for the debts of others; vented many bitter execrations against the brother; and concluded with wishing something could be done for the unfortunate family.
ref: 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:
text: Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
ref: 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Colossians 3:19:
glosses: Hateful or hostile.
examples: text: I've been bitter ever since that defeat.
glosses: Cynical and resentful.
Synonyms: word: acrid
word: caustic
sense: cynical and resentful
word: jaded
word: acerb
word: acerbic
word: bitter
word: bittersome
word: sharp
Hypernyms: word: gustable
Hyponyms: word: coffeelike
word: hoppy
word: quiniferous
word: bitterish
Derived terms: bitter almond
bitter apple
bitter bark
bitter bean
bitter bolete
bitterbrush
bitter buchu
bitterbush
bitter chocolate
bitter cold
bittercress
bitter-cress
bitter cucumber
bitterful
bitter gourd
bitter herbs
bitterish
bitterless
bitterling
bitterly
bitter melon
bittermelon
bitterness
bitternut
bitter orange
bitter panicgrass
bitter pill
bitter pill to swallow
bitter pit
bitterroot
bitter rot
bittersharp
bittersome
bitter spar
bittersweet
bitter-sweet
bitter tomato
bitter vetch
bitterweed
bitterwood
bitterwort
debitter
debitterize
embitter
Great Bitter Lake
imbitter
mild and bitter
nonbitter
overbitter
sugarcoat a bitter pill
swallow a bitter pill
take the bitter with the sweet
unbitter
Related terms: word: bitter end
word: bitterness