Bitter

//ˈbɪt.ə// adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang

adj, adv, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A liquid or powder, made from bitter herbs, used in mixed drinks or as a tonic. countable, uncountable

    "Thus I begin: "All is not gold that glitters, "Pleasure seems sweet, but proves a glass of bitters."

  2. 2
    A hardware system whose architecture is based around units of the specified number of bits (binary digits). in-compounds, informal

    "However, 16-bitters are far more expensive than the 8-bit variety. And, unfortunately, have only a handful of business applications software packages that really take advantage of them."

  3. 3
    the property of having a harsh unpleasant taste wordnet
  4. 4
    A type of beer heavily flavored with hops. countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    the taste experience when quinine or coffee is taken into the mouth wordnet
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  1. 6
    A turn of a cable about the bitts. countable, uncountable
  2. 7
    English term for a dry sharp-tasting ale with strong flavor of hops (usually on draft) wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To make bitter. archaic

    "bittered with the hop"

  2. 2
    make bitter wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Having an acrid taste (usually from a basic substance).

    "The coffee tasted bitter."

  2. 2
    Harsh, piercing, acerbic or stinging.

    "It was at the end of February, […] when the world was cold, and a bitter wind howled down the moors […]."

  3. 3
    Hateful or hostile.

    "They're bitter enemies."

  4. 4
    Cynical and resentful.

    "I've been bitter ever since that defeat."

Adjective
  1. 1
    marked by strong resentment or cynicism wordnet
  2. 2
    proceeding from or exhibiting great hostility or animosity wordnet
  3. 3
    expressive of severe grief or regret wordnet
  4. 4
    causing a sharply painful or stinging sensation; used especially of cold wordnet
  5. 5
    harsh or corrosive in tone wordnet
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  1. 6
    causing a sharp and acrid taste experience wordnet
  2. 7
    very difficult to accept or bear wordnet
Adverb
  1. 1
    To an intense or severe degree; bitterly.

    "A dynamic personality in the outfit, he met his death in the bitter-fought engagements in Venafro."

Adverb
  1. 1
    extremely and sharply wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname from Dutch or German.

Synonyms

All synonyms
acrimoniousbitinghostilesorrowfulacerbacerb

Example

More examples

"Laugh as much as you like; I'll stick to my plan to the bitter end."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English bitter, bittre, from Old English bitter, biter (“bitter”), from Proto-West Germanic *bitr, from Proto-Germanic *bitraz (“bitter”), equivalent to bite + -er (agent noun suffix) used attributively. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bitter, West Frisian bitter, Low German bitter, Dutch bitter, German bitter, Swedish bitter, Icelandic bitur (all meaning “bitter”).

Etymology 2

From bit + -er.

Related phrases

Bitter electromagnetBitter plateGreat Bitter LakeMishmi bitterbest bitterbitter African daisybitter albiziabitter almondbitter aloesbitter applebitter barkbitter bean

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.