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Bittersweet

//ˈbɪtɚˌswit// adj, noun

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Both bitter and sweet.

    "bittersweet chocolate"

  2. 2
    Expressing contrasting emotions of pain and pleasure. figuratively

    "The break-up was very bittersweet; they both hurt to end it, but were glad it was over."

  3. 3
    Of bittersweet color (see the noun section, below).
Adjective
  1. 1
    tinged with sadness wordnet
  2. 2
    having a taste that is a mixture of bitterness and sweetness wordnet
Noun
  1. 1
    Bittersweet nightshade (Solanum dulcamara). countable, uncountable

    "Bitter ſweete bringeth foorth wooddie ſtalks as doth the Vine, parted into many ſlender creeping braunches, by which it climeth and taketh holde of hedges and ſhrubbes next vnto it. […] Bitter ſweet doth grow in moiſt places about ditches, riuers, and hedges, almoſt euery where."

  2. 2
    twining shrub of North America having yellow capsules enclosing scarlet seeds wordnet
  3. 3
    Bittersweetness. countable, uncountable

    "I had once before visited these three villages, Skedans, Tanoo and Cumshewa. The bitter-sweet of their overwhelming loneliness created a longing to return to them."

  4. 4
    poisonous perennial Old World vine having violet flowers and oval coral-red berries; widespread weed in North America wordnet
  5. 5
    A vine, of the genus Celastrus, having small orange fruit that open to reveal red seeds. US, countable, uncountable

    "Over by the creek-bed scarlet-flamed sumac shouldered the silver-green of the willows, and orange-colored bittersweet crept through the tangle of wild plums."

Show 3 more definitions
  1. 6
    A variety of apple with a bittersweet taste. countable, uncountable

    ""They had a good crop of bitter-sweets, they couldn’t grind them all"—nodding towards an orchard where some heaps of apples had been left lying ever since the ingathering."

  2. 7
    Any variety of clam in the family Glycymerididae countable, uncountable
  3. 8
    A pinkish-orange color. Any color in between scarlet and orange. countable, uncountable

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English bitterswete, biterswete, equivalent to bitter + sweet. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bitterswäit (“bittersweet”), West Frisian bittersoet (“bittersweet”), Dutch bitterzoet (“bittersweet”), German bittersüß (“bittersweet”), Danish bittersød (“bittersweet”), Swedish bittersöt (“bittersweet”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English bitterswete, biterswete, equivalent to bitter + sweet. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bitterswäit (“bittersweet”), West Frisian bittersoet (“bittersweet”), Dutch bitterzoet (“bittersweet”), German bittersüß (“bittersweet”), Danish bittersød (“bittersweet”), Swedish bittersöt (“bittersweet”).

See also for "bittersweet"

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