Definitions for bitter
ˈbɪt ərbit·ter

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. bitternoun

   English term for a dry sharp-tasting ale with strong flavor of hops (usually on draft)

2. bitter, bitternessnoun

   the taste experience when quinine or coffee is taken into the mouth

3. bitterness, bitteradjective

   the property of having a harsh unpleasant taste

4. acrimonious, bitteradjective

   marked by strong resentment or cynicism

   "an acrimonious dispute"; "bitter about the divorce"

5. bitteradjective

   very difficult to accept or bear

   "the bitter truth"; "a bitter sorrow"

6. acerb, acerbic, acid, acrid, bitter, blistering, caustic, sulfurous, sulphurous, virulent, vitriolicadjective

   harsh or corrosive in tone

   "an acerbic tone piercing otherwise flowery prose"; "a barrage of acid comments"; "her acrid remarks make her many enemies"; "bitter words"; "blistering criticism"; "caustic jokes about political assassination, talk-show hosts and medical ethics"; "a sulfurous denunciation"; "a vitriolic critique"

7. bitteradjective

   expressive of severe grief or regret

   "shed bitter tears"

8. bitteradjective

   proceeding from or exhibiting great hostility or animosity

   "a bitter struggle"; "bitter enemies"

9. bitteradjective

   causing a sharp and acrid taste experience;"quinine is bitter"

10. biting, bitterverb

    causing a sharply painful or stinging sensation; used especially of cold

    "bitter cold"; "a biting wind"

11. bitteradverb

    make bitter

12. piercingly, bitterly, bitingly, bitteradverb

    extremely and sharply

    "it was bitterly cold"; "bitter cold"

Wiktionary(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. bitternoun

   A liquid or powder, made from bitter herbs, used in mixed drinks or as a tonic.

2. bitternoun

   A type of beer heavily flavored with hops.

3. bitternoun

   A turn of a cable about the bitts.

4. bitteradjective

   Having an acrid taste (usually from a basic substance)

   The coffee was bitter.

5. bitteradjective

   Harsh, piercing or stinging

6. bitteradjective

   Hateful or hostile

   They're bitter enemies.

7. bitteradjective

   Cynical and resentful

   I've been bitter ever since that defeat.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. BITTERadjective

   Etymology: biter, Saxon.

   1. Having a hot, acrid, biting taste, like wormwood.

   Bitter things are apt rather to kill than engender putrefaction. Francis Bacon, Nat. Hist. №. 696.

   Though a man in a fever should, from sugar, have a bitter taste, which, at another time, produces a sweet one; yet the idea of bitter in that man’s mind, would be as clear and distinct from the idea of sweet, as if he had tasted only gall. John Locke.

   2. Sharp; cruel; severe.

   Friends now fast sworn,
   Unseparable, shall within this hour,
   On a dissension of a doit, break out
   To bitterest enmity. William Shakespeare, Coriolanus.

   Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. Coloss. iii. 19.

   The word of God, instead of a bitter, teaches us a charitable zeal. Thomas Sprat.

   3. Calamitous; miserable.

   Noble friends and fellows, whom to leave
   Is only bitter to him, only dying;
   Go with me, like good angels, to my end. William Shakespeare, H. VIII.

   A dire induction am I witness to;
   And will to France, hoping, the consequence
   Will prove as bitter, black, and tragical. William Shakespeare, Rich. III.

   Tell him, that if I bear my bitter fate,
   ’Tis to behold his vengeance for my son. John Dryden, Æneis.

   4. Painful; inclement.

   And shun the bitter consequence: for know,
   The day thou eat’st thereof, my sole command
   Transgrest, inevitably thou shalt die. Paradise Lost, b. viii.

   The fowl the borders fly,
   And shun the bitter blast, and wheel about the sky. Dryden.

   5. Sharp; reproachful; satirical.

   Go with me,
   And, in the breath of bitter words, let’s smother
   My damned son. William Shakespeare, Richard III.

   6. Mournful; afflicted.

   Wherefore is light given unto him that is in misery, and life unto the bitter in soul? Job, iii. 20.

   7. In any manner, unpleasing or hurtful.

   Bitter is an equivocal word; there is bitter wormwood, there are bitter words, there are bitter enemies, and a bitter cold morning. Isaac Watts, Logick.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Bitternoun

   aA turn of the cable which is round the bitts

2. Bitterverb

   having a peculiar, acrid, biting taste, like that of wormwood or an infusion of hops; as, a bitter medicine; bitter as aloes

3. Bitterverb

   causing pain or smart; piercing; painful; sharp; severe; as, a bitter cold day

4. Bitterverb

   causing, or fitted to cause, pain or distress to the mind; calamitous; poignant

5. Bitterverb

   characterized by sharpness, severity, or cruelty; harsh; stern; virulent; as, bitter reproach

6. Bitterverb

   mournful; sad; distressing; painful; pitiable

7. Bitternoun

   any substance that is bitter. See Bitters

8. Bitterverb

   to make bitter

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Bitter

   Bitter is an English term for pale ale. Bitters vary in colour from gold to dark amber and in strength from 3% to 7% alcohol by volume.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Bitter

   bit′ėr, adj. biting or acrid to the taste: sharp: painful.—n. any substance having a bitter taste.—adj. Bitt′erish.—adv. Bitt′erly.—n. Bitt′erness.—n.pl. Bitt′ers, a liquid prepared from bitter herbs or roots, and used as a stomachic.—n. Bitt′er-sweet, the Woody Nightshade, a slender, climbing hedge-plant, having red poisonous berries, said to be named from its root, when chewed, having first a bitter, then a sweet taste: (Shak.) an apple that has a compound taste of sweet and bitter: a mixture of sweet and bitter. [A.S. bítan, to bite.]

2. Bitter

   (Spens.), used for Bittern.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. bitter

   Any turn of a cable about the bitts is called a bitter. Hence a ship is "brought up to a bitter" when the cable is allowed to run out to that stop.

Matched Categories

1. • Ale

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'bitter' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3873

2. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'bitter' in Adjectives Frequency: #518

How to pronounce bitter?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say bitter in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of bitter in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of bitter in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2

Examples of bitter in a Sentence

1. W. Somerset Maugham:

   The common idea that success spoils people by making them vain, egotistic, and self-complacent is erroneous -- on the contrary, it makes them, for the most part, humble, tolerant, and kind. It is failure that makes people bitter and cruel.

2. Pat Riley:

   I definitely feel an obligation to finish this build. And so if we're three years into this build – then I don't want to do another three years of just building this team. I think we're in that window of internal improvement. We got a great, great, great player in Jimmy Butler, we know that, we have a lot of real experienced veterans and so we put together a team that got to the Eastern Conference finals and it was bitter, it was a bitter loss. The dragon hasn't actually left my body yet from that loss. I was stunned, I was frustrated, I was angry, I was all of those things for the last week and now I'm beginning to move on past all of that, so I haven't given that any thought at all.

3. Simone Pika:

   Self-medication — where individuals use plant parts or non-nutritional substances to combat pathogens or parasites — has been observed across multiple animal species including insects, reptiles, birds and mammals, current Biology.Bears two closest living relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, for instance, swallow leaves of plants with anthelmintic( antiparasitic) properties and chew bitter leaves that have chemical properties to kill intestinal parasites.

4. Choe Son Hui:

   The U.S. had better not put our patience to the test any longer with such remarks irritating us if it doesn't want to have bitter regrets afterwards.

5. Bryant McGill:

   If you have not been served personally by caring hands in your own life, do not be bitter, but instead, ask yourself who you can now serve.

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