I. bit·ter ˈbid.ə(r), ˈbitə- adjective
( usually -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English biter; akin to Old High German bittar bitter, Old Norse bitr sharp, biting, Gothic baitis bitter, Old English bītan to bite — more at bite
1.
a. : indicating or inducing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is mediated by end organs in the circumvallate papilae, is produced chiefly by organic compounds (as alkaloids and certain glucosides), and when strongly developed is markedly unpleasant and lingering
the medicine left a bitter taste in her mouth
— compare salt , sour , sweet
b. : distasteful to the mind : distressing to contemplate : unpalatable , galling
bitter truths
a bitter sense of shame
2. : marked by intensity or severity : rigorous:
a. : accompanied by severe pain or suffering of mind or body : difficult to bear
a bitter death
there was a bitter moment when they parted for the last time
b. : vehement , relentless , determined
a bitter partisan
the bitter struggle for economic freedom
often : exhibiting intense animosity
bitter enemies
c. obsolete : cruel and oppressive
d.
(1) of modes of expression : harshly reproachful : sharp and resentful : biting
bitter complaints
(2) of a person or attitude : marked by cynicism and rancor : intensely unfriendly
bitter contempt
a bitter answer
e. of weather or its manifestations : intensely unpleasant especially in coldness or rawness : piercing , raw
a bitter wind whistled about our ears
3. obsolete : causing or designed to cause pain or anguish
4. : caused by or expressive of severe pain, grief, or regret
bitter tears shed too late
Synonyms:
acrid stresses astringent effects accompanying strong, pungent, unpleasant tastes or penetrating or suffocating odors
in its green state, it is exceedingly acrid, but boiled or baked, had the sweetness of the sugarcane — Herman Melville
there was an acrid musty smell; the raw air was close with breathing — Rose Macaulay
bitter , a more general and often less extreme word, indicates a marked pungent taste, usually unpleasant, and an absence of sweetness or mildness
bitter as aloes, it parched my tongue — Elinor Wylie
McCoy had made some beer, once, with ti roots … It was bitter stuff and fair gagged ye to get it down — C.B.Nordhoff & J.N.Hall
Sometimes, as with bitter chocolate, bitter winter cress and tonics, and flavors called bitters, the unpleasant suggestion is lacking. Both words refer to acid, misanthropic temperaments. acrid suggest malevolent, caustic sarcasm
the thin, angular woman, with her haughty eye and her acrid mouth — Lytton Strachey
bitter may add to this the suggestion of cynicism
the good-humoured, affectionate-hearted Godfrey Cass was fast becoming a bitter man, visited by cruel wishes — George Eliot
Synonyms:
sore , grievous : bitter applies to that which may hurt by or as if by stinging or biting and to that which is unpleasant or unpalatable in the extreme because galling, chagrining, inducing sharpest regret
a bitter winter
a bitter period of frustration
no act of Caesar's showed more sagacity than the introduction of Gallic nobles into the Senate; none was more bitter to the Scipios and Metelli, who were compelled to share their august privileges with these despised barbarians — J.A.Froude
one had a bitter sense of waste when one read how tuberculosis had taken him at last up in Switzerland — Rebecca West
In descriptions of persons and their moods, utterances, and activities, bitter indicates deep, virulent, implacable resentment and hate
an ugly story of low passion, delusion, and waking from delusion, which needs not to be dragged from the privacy of Godfrey's bitter memory — George Eliot
sore applies to what occasions severe trial, tribulation, or painful affliction
Baltimore's tribulations were indeed sore; there was no peace for him day nor night — Herman Melville
an exceptionally long history of struggle and suffering has left many sore and sensitive spots in the body of Israel — M.R.Cohen
Applied to persons sore may indicate either painful sensitivity or smarting resentment
the worst of suffering such as hers was that it left one sore to the gentlest touch — Edith Wharton
many of the delegates were sore and angry about places in the Constitution that they didn't like and had worked hard to cut out — Dorothy C. Fisher
grievous , rather archaic in effect, applies to the painfully onerous or sorely lamentable
though his hurts were many and grievous, and his lifeblood ebbing fast — William Morris
Europe had suffered grievous losses of men and materials — Vera M. Dean
II. bitter adverb
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English bitere, from biter, adjective
1. : bitterly — used especially in the phrase bitter cold
2. dialect England : extremely , very
this drug is wanted bitter bad, sir — R.L.Stevenson
III. bitter noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from bitter, adjective
1.
a. : something bitter ; also : bitter quality
take the bitter with the sweet
b. : a bitter taste sensation
the medicine has a bitter all its own
2.
a. bitters plural : a usually alcoholic liquor prepared by maceration or distillation of a bitter herb, leaf, fruit, seed, or root and used as a mild tonic or stimulant to increase the appetite and improve digestion and as a flavoring agent especially in cocktails and sauces
b. Britain : a very dry heavily hopped ale usually sold on draft
IV. bitter transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English bitteren, from Old English biterian, from biter, adjective
: to make bitter
bittered ale
: embitter
V. bitt·er noun
( -s )
Etymology: bitt (I) + -er
: a turn of cable round the bitts