embitter

[em-bit-er]

verb (used with object)

1. to make bitter; cause to feel bitterness.

   Failure has embittered him.

   Synonyms: envenom, rankle, sour

2. to make bitter or more bitter in taste.

embitter

/ ɪmˈbɪtə /

verb

1. to make (a person) resentful or bitter

2. to aggravate (an already hostile feeling, difficult situation, etc)

Other Word Forms

• embitterer noun
• embitterment noun
• unembittered adjective
• embittered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of embitter¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; em- ¹ + bitter

Example Sentences

Yet the collapse of Reconstruction in 1877 and the rise of Jim Crow left him embittered, mourning the rollback of hard-won rights.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Rapp plays the part of a lover embittered by the lingering presence of a third party in her relationship.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He has bragged and bullied in a way that has shamed America, insulted Iran and embittered Muslims throughout the world.

Read more on Salon

The anguish that erupts during this “Rose’s Turn” represents more than the built-up sorrow of one embittered woman.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

It is from that embittered class that authoritarian populism gets its followers.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• aggravate 
• annoy 
• disaffect 
• disillusion 
• exacerbate 
• exasperate 
• irritate 
• sour