Bitter
Pronunciation
Origin
From Middle English, from Old English biter, bitter, from Proto-Germanic *bitraz. Compare West Frisian bitter, Dutch bitter, Low German bitter, German bitter, Icelandic bitur.
Full definition of bitter
Adjective
bitter
- Having an acrid taste (usually from a basic substance)The coffee tasted bitter.
- 1907, w, The Younger Set Chapter 3, 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 ; … .
- Harsh, piercing or stingingA bitter wind blew from the north.1999: It was at the end of February, ... when the world was cold, and a bitter wind howled down the moors.... — Neil Gaiman, Stardust, pg. 31 (Perennial paperback edition)
- Hateful or hostile.They're bitter enemies.
- Bible, Col. iii. 19Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
- Cynical and resentful.I've been bitter ever since that defeat.
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.
Derived terms
Antonyms
- (cynical and resentful) optimistic
Synonyms
- (cynical and resentful) jaded
Noun
bitter
(plural bitters)- (usually in the plural bitters) A liquid or powder, made from bitter herbs, used in mixed drinks or as a tonic.
- 1773, Oliver Goldsmith, Thus I begin: "All is not gold that glitters,"Pleasure seems sweet, but proves a glass of bitters.
- A type of beer heavily flavored with hops.
- (nautical) A turn of a cable about the bitts.
Derived terms
Verb
- To make bitter.----