bitter pill to swallow
IdiomsExample Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Leonard played 65 games and averaged a career-best 27.9 points, however Wednesday’s loss was a bitter pill to swallow.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 16, 2026
Paramount would have a bitter pill to swallow if regulators actually blocked the transaction.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
It was a bitter pill to swallow for a young man who had spoken to AFP before the game about wanting to be an "all-time great" and to emulate his illustrious Patriots predecessor Tom Brady.
From Barron's • Feb. 9, 2026
It’s a bitter pill to swallow for Americans, especially younger generations that never have lived through a period of high inflation before.
From MarketWatch • Jan. 23, 2026
Given that Russia was at this point at the very vanguard of modernism it was a bitter pill to swallow, and understandably so.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
