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