bitter

1 of 4

adjective

bit·​ter ˈbi-tər How to pronounce bitter (audio)
1
a
: being, inducing, or marked by the one of the five basic taste sensations that is peculiarly acrid, astringent, and often disagreeable and characteristic of citrus peels, unsweetened cocoa, black coffee, mature leafy greens (such as kale or mustard), or ale
The pill left a bitter taste in my mouth.
bitter beer
bitter chocolates
compare salty entry 1 sense 1b, sour entry 1 sense 1, sweet entry 1, umami entry 2 sense 1
b
: distasteful or distressing to the mind : galling
a bitter sense of shame
2
: marked by intensity or severity:
a
: accompanied by severe pain or suffering
a bitter death
b
: being relentlessly determined : vehement
a bitter partisan
c
: exhibiting intense animosity
bitter enemies
d(1)
: harshly reproachful
bitter complaints
(2)
: marked by cynicism and rancor
bitter contempt
was still bitter about not being chosen
e
: intensely unpleasant especially in coldness or rawness
a bitter wind
3
: caused by or expressive of severe pain, grief, or regret
bitter tears
bitterish adjective
bitterly adverb
bitterness noun

bitter

2 of 4

noun

1
a
: bitter quality
… stepping outside your comfort zone and taking the bitter with the sweet.James Poniewoziks
b
: the taste sensation that is peculiarly acrid, astringent, and often disagreeable and is characteristic of citrus peels, unsweetened cocoa, black coffee, mature leafy greens (such as kale or mustard), or ale compare salty entry 2, sour entry 2 sense 1b, sweet entry 3 sense 2, umami entry 1
2
a
bitters ˈbi-tərz How to pronounce bitter (audio) plural : a usually alcoholic solution of bitter and often aromatic plant products used especially in preparing mixed drinks or as a mild tonic (see tonic entry 1 sense 1b)
b
British : a very dry (see dry entry 1 sense 7b) heavily hopped ale

bitter

3 of 4

verb

bittered; bittering; bitters

transitive verb

: to make bitter (see bitter entry 1)
bittered ale

bitter

4 of 4

adverb

: to an intense or severe degree : to a bitter (see bitter entry 1) degree
It's bitter cold.

Examples of bitter in a Sentence

Adjective Cocoa beans have a bitter flavor. The medicine had a bitter aftertaste. We were struck by the bitter irony of the situation. His betrayal had made her bitter. She was still bitter toward her ex-husband. He's the bitterest man I know. Noun The cocktail recipe called for a dash of bitters. a good selection of bitters
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The couple’s bitter breakup also came into view during the evidentiary hearing last year held by the labor commission before its ruling. Nancy Dillon, Rolling Stone, 13 Mar. 2024 Growth had flatlined at the startup, which made its money by taking a small cut when a project on its platform met a funding threshold, and its onetime feel-good culture had become toxic in the wake of a bitter unionization drive. Byallie Garfinkle, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2024 In this era of bitter partisan divides over immigration, Babcock noted in the interview that the women’s museum is a nonpartisan institution that was established by a bipartisan commission. Manuel Roig-Franzia, Washington Post, 12 Mar. 2024 Money to pay the settlement came from insurers, trust money to care for cemeteries — the subject of bitter litigation within the case — a continuing education fund for priests, and other sources. Sophie Carson, Journal Sentinel, 12 Mar. 2024 The three liberal Justices reportedly square-pegged a partial dissent into a bitter, for-the-good-of-the-country concurrence with the six conservatives, to reverse the lower court. Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 10 Mar. 2024 The about-face disclosed Friday is the latest twist in a bitter fight between Apple and Epic Games, the maker of the popular Fortnite video game, over the way iPhone apps are distributed and the fees for digital transactions that occur within them. Michael Liedtke, Quartz, 8 Mar. 2024 Manager Mikel Arteta will know from the bitter experience of last year how damaging an injury to William Saliba, Gabriel or, now, Declan Rice would be. Rory Smith, New York Times, 8 Mar. 2024 The smaller leaves will be more tender and sweeter or less bitter, a perfect substitution for kale in salads. Adrienne Cheatham, CNN, 3 Mar. 2024
Noun
Ch-Cherry Bomb At Center Bar in New York City, a delicious mix of Irish Whiskey, cherry liqueur, Amaro and a splash of chocolate bitters. Aly Walansky, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024 The Cigars On Ice is a combination of vodka, simple syrup, lemon juice, egg whites and Angostura bitters. Ebony L. Morman, Charlotte Observer, 1 Feb. 2024 Orange bitters, on the other hand, combines with the fruity core of the apple brandy to make something completely new, and completely delicious. Jason O'Bryan, Robb Report, 2 Mar. 2024 While Campari is the king of red bitters, Ms. Tulloch also recommends trying other brands like Faccia Brutto, the Bruto Americano from St. George Spirits or the Crimson Amaro from Catskill Provisions. Rebekah Peppler, New York Times, 8 Feb. 2024 Each was a fresh take on a historic brew — American amber, Baltic-style porter, German-style lager, English-style bitter. Peter Rowe, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Feb. 2024 The distillery makes all its own booze, including liqueurs, bitters and vermouths, and the cocktails are great. Jess Fleming, Twin Cities, 8 Feb. 2024 The base is a carrot-pineapple-habanero shrub inspired by one of Paez’s chef friend’s hot sauces — mixed with orange, lemon, ginger beer and optional bitters. Jim Harrington, The Mercury News, 9 Jan. 2024 Digestive bitters are alcohol tinctures made with bitter herbs (see recipe below). Lisa Wong MacAbasco, Vogue, 18 Dec. 2023
Verb
Most Beach Club beers, like Mango Colada with coconut and lime, have minimal amounts of bittering hops. Eric Velasco, al, 23 Apr. 2020 This grape is extremely approachable, with lots of fruit flavor and balanced dryness, due to the low tannins, which are the drying or bittering agent in many wines. Paul Daugherty, Cincinnati.com, 7 Nov. 2019 With all the ABVs and bittering units, barrel sizes and batch numbers, a beer bottle’s label can often read like the back of a baseball card. William Bostwick, WSJ, 8 Aug. 2018 The liqueur puts Indiana persimmons front and center while adding traditional bittering agents like rhubarb root and bitter orange peel, with cardamom and spearmint offering added complexity. Kenney Marlatt, chicagotribune.com, 30 May 2018 Another hop, typically grown in the Southern Hemisphere and used largely as a bittering agent, presented big, fruit flavors more like traditional West Coast hops. Natasha Geiling, Smithsonian, 21 May 2018 Those are made employing the still somewhat suspicious American practice of adding bittering hops to the mix, but there's nothing aggressive or even untoward about them. Mike Sula, Chicago Reader, 22 Mar. 2018 Night Shift built Nite Lite similarly, adding real corn (as opposed to corn syrup or rice syrup) and brewing with a touch of Saaz hops, the classic bittering agent in a Czech pilsner. Gary Dzen, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Mar. 2018 Two grants for a total of $135,154 went to Pennsylvania State University for projects involving hops, which are the bittering agent in beer. Harold Brubaker, Philly.com, 1 Mar. 2018
Adverb
To see whether an individual’s diet affects the composition of its saliva, researchers gathered saliva from rats habituated to a diet including bitter-tasting quinine. Chris Gorski, Discover Magazine, 28 Jan. 2023 This mutation might even be an evolutionary remnant of a once-crucial survival mechanism to avoid bitter-tasting toxic plants and animals. Kareem Clark, Discover Magazine, 1 Nov. 2021 Do not let this sadness, this fear, rage turn you bitter towards our world. Kathleen Foody, BostonGlobe.com, 8 July 2022 Shake out every last drop from your previous pot to keep the next round from turning bitter. Max Falkowitz, Bon Appétit, 5 May 2022 Two-thirds of 137 participants in the Phase 2 trial received AMX0035, a bitter-tasting powder mixed with water to be drunk or ingested through a feeding tube twice daily. New York Times, 30 Mar. 2022 The ingredients for — and method of making — the crisp, bright and bitter-leaning drink lie directly in its name. Rebekah Peppler, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2022 Wormwood is a European plant that yields a bitter-tasting oil but contains neither worm nor wood. Richard Lederer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 June 2021 The benefit to squeezers is more control over the juicing process, so your end result should be pure, delicious juice with no bitter-tasting peel oil. Laura Duerr, chicagotribune.com, 13 Mar. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bitter.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, going back to Old English biter, going back to Germanic *bitra- (whence Old Saxon & Old High German bittar "acrid-tasting," Old Norse bitr "biting, sharp") and *baitra- (whence Gothic baitrs "sharp-tasting"), derivatives from the base of *bītan- "to bite" — more at bite entry 1

Noun

derivative of bitter entry 1

Verb

Middle English bittrin, going back to Old English biterian, derivative of biter bitter entry 1

Adverb

Middle English bitter, bittere, going back to Old English bitere, derivative of biter bitter entry 1

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

12th century, in the meaning defined above

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of bitter was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near bitter

Cite this Entry

“Bitter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bitter. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bitter

adjective
bit·​ter
ˈbit-ər
1
: having or being a disagreeable sharp taste that is one of the four basic taste sensations
bitter coffee
compare salt entry 3 sense 1b, sour entry 1 sense 1, sweet entry 1 sense 1b
2
: hard to accept or bear : painful
bitter disappointment
3
: sharp and resentful
a bitter reply
4
: unpleasantly cold
a bitter wind
bitterly adverb
bitterness noun

Medical Definition

bitter

adjective
bit·​ter ˈbit-ər How to pronounce bitter (audio)
: being or inducing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is peculiarly acrid, astringent, or disagreeable and suggestive of an infusion of hops compare salt entry 2 sense 2, sour entry 1, sweet entry 1
bitterness noun

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