bitter
Americanadjective
-
bitterer,
comparative
-
bitterest
superlative
-
having a harsh, disagreeably acrid taste, like that of aspirin, quinine, wormwood, or aloes.
- Synonyms:
- distasteful, unpalatable, acrid
-
producing one of the four basic taste sensations; not sour, sweet, or salt.
-
hard to bear; grievous; distressful.
a bitter sorrow.
-
causing pain; piercing; stinging.
a bitter chill.
-
characterized by intense antagonism or hostility.
bitter hatred.
- Synonyms:
- relentless, ruthless, cruel, fierce
-
hard to admit or accept.
a bitter lesson.
-
resentful or cynical.
bitter words.
- Synonyms:
- scornful, sardonic, biting, caustic, acrimonious
noun
-
bitters
plural
-
that which is bitter; bitterness.
Learn to take the bitter with the sweet.
-
British. a very dry ale having a strong taste of hops.
verb (used with object)
adverb
adjective
-
having or denoting an unpalatable harsh taste, as the peel of an orange or coffee dregs Compare sour
-
showing or caused by strong unrelenting hostility or resentment
he was still bitter about the divorce
-
difficult or unpleasant to accept or admit
a bitter blow
-
cutting; sarcastic
bitter words
-
bitingly cold
a bitter night
adverb
noun
-
a thing that is bitter
-
beer with a high hop content, with a slightly bitter taste
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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bitternessnoun
-
bitterishadjective
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nonbitteradjective
-
overbitteradjective
-
unbitteradjective
-
bitterlyadverb
-
overbitterlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of bitter
First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English biter; cognate with German bitter, Old Norse bitr, Gothic baitrs; akin to bite
Explanation
If you usually drink your coffee with lots of cream and sugar in it, you might be surprised at how bitter plain black coffee can taste. Bitter means "having a sharp or harsh flavor." Bitter describes a particular pungent taste, like the sharpness of very dark chocolate (which is sometimes called bittersweet for its mixture of the two flavors). If you imagine taking that bitter taste on your tongue and turning it into an emotion, you've got another meaning of bitter: a resentful, angry feeling. And if you turn that bitter flavor into a physical feeling, you've got an adjective that describes a sharp, unpleasant sensation, like a cold, bitter wind.
Vocabulary lists containing bitter
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 3
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ACT Reading Test: Words to Capture Tone, List 1
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In a bitter postscript, the mansion burned to rubble in last year’s Southern California wildfires.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
He replaced the late Cyrus Mistry, whose abrupt removal from the post months earlier had triggered a bitter legal battle.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
On Friday, Cambridge University said that it would continue to investigate Arday's appointment and tenure after he resigned citing pressure over the bitter dispute.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
The evidence suggests King Harold may have weakened his position well before the Battle of Hastings by supporting the wrong faction during a bitter conflict between two competing popes.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 11, 2026
It tasted bitter and slimy, but he was too famished to care.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
The group behind Aperol and Campari bitters recorded 2.5% organic sales growth in the quarter through June, with its core aperitifs business booking 4% growth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
In addition to Peychaud’s and Angostura, Caporale recommends using Regan’s Orange bitters.
From Salon ● Jan. 18, 2026
Other ways in which we “close the loop” are through syrups, infusions, shrubs, tinctures and bitters.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2024
You can even embrace your inner mixologist by investing in a few non-alcoholic bitters.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2024
Some chocolate had the bitters and you added sugar.
From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson
His face is bitterer than the cold as Miranda asks him how his apartment hunt is going.
From Salon ● Jul. 23, 2023
That’s a bitter joke, but no bitterer than the tone of the English master’s sweeping historical drama about the slaughter of a group of peaceful labor organizers at a mass protest in 1819.
From Slate ● Dec. 6, 2019
“Information warfare will grow far bitterer, and that’s something we will have to live with during the upcoming period.”
From Washington Times ● Mar. 5, 2018
It’s hard to say which of them produced the bitterer barbs.
From Time ● Sep. 24, 2015
Still, they say the bitterer the medicine the quicker the cure.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
Some of the regime’s bitterest enemies in Miami became its de facto financial supporters as they sent their grandparents money without which they couldn’t survive.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
To forget the bitterest chapters of our personal histories can be overwhelmingly tempting when there’s so much to deal with, right in front of us.
From Salon ● May 25, 2026
“New life tended to spring from bitterest ash,” she writes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2025
In 2022 the two men ran one of the bitterest Senate races in recent memory.
From Slate ● Nov. 22, 2024
She hated all Trojans, of course; she never forgot the judgment of Paris and she had been Troy’s bitterest enemy during the war, but she felt an especial hatred for Aeneas.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
