bitter pill

American  

noun

1. a distressing experience or result that is hard to accept (often in the expressiona bitter pill to swallow ).

   Being passed over for promotion was a bitter pill to swallow.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bitter pill

"It's a bitter pill to swallow to have to pay tax for something which was not my fault," he said.

From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026

“This will be a bitter pill to swallow,” SGH Macro’s Duy said.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 23, 2026

The Japanese considered the emperor to be divine, and a surrender was to admit his fallibility—a very bitter pill to swallow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026

For USC, it was an especially bitter pill to swallow, considering how well things had started.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2026

It was a bitter pill for me to swallow, too.

From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad

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