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. 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. bitterly adv. bitterness n.
[ OE biter prob. f. Gmc: to the bitter end may be assoc. with a Naut. word bitter = 'last part of a cable': see BITTS ]