bittersweet

1 of 2

noun

bit·​ter·​sweet ˈbi-tər-ˌswēt How to pronounce bittersweet (audio)
1
: something that is bittersweet
especially : pleasure accompanied by suffering or regret
… the bittersweet of their long separation … Christopher Morley
2
botany
a
: a poisonous Eurasian woody vine (Solanum dulcamara) of the nightshade family that has purple flowers and oval reddish berries and is naturalized (see naturalize sense 4) in North America
b
: a North American poisonous woody vine (Celastrus scandens) of the staff-tree family having clusters of small greenish flowers succeeded by yellow capsules (see capsule entry 1 sense 2a) that open when ripe and disclose the scarlet aril

bittersweet

2 of 2

adjective

1
: being at once bitter and sweet
especially : pleasant but including or marked by elements of suffering or regret
a bittersweet ballad
bittersweet memories
2
: of or relating to a prepared chocolate containing little sugar
bittersweet chocolate chips
bittersweetly adverb
bittersweetness noun

Examples of bittersweet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The mood was all at once jubilant and a little bittersweet. Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 1 Jan. 2024 Participants were asked about their emotional response to their favorite music and the researchers assigned four themes: energizing/activating, happy/cheerful, calming/relaxing, and moving/bittersweet. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 25 Oct. 2023 Jennifer Forman Orth/National Park Service The Oriental bittersweet was introduced as an ornamental plant and for erosion control, according to the National Invasive Species Information Center. Lindsay Crudele, BostonGlobe.com, 26 July 2023 An anthology series — set in and around a compact backstreet Tokyo eatery, open from midnight to 7 a.m., where night owls from all walks of life occupy its U-shaped counter — offers short stories that tend to the bittersweet, but with sweetness most prominent. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2023 Talk about bittersweet: Netflix has renewed Sweet Tooth for a third and final season. Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 3 May 2023 And maybe a little bittersweet. Creg Stephenson | Cstephenson@al.com, al, 19 Nov. 2022 Labor Day can feel a little bittersweet. Maggie Horton, Country Living, 5 Sep. 2022 One more memory, this one bittersweet. Kurt Streeter, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2021
Adjective
Our bites were crumbly, not melty, and tasted vegetal, not bittersweet. Sam Stone, Bon Appétit, 6 Mar. 2024 While breaking enthusiasts acknowledge the opportunity the Olympics provide young dancers, some consider breaking’s inclusion in the Games bittersweet. Sean Gregory, TIME, 5 Mar. 2024 What wasn’t bittersweet was seeing her excitedly tear open lots of cool gifts at her birthday party. Katrina Cossey, Parents, 1 Mar. 2024 While this may be a bittersweet day for the fandom, the Miyagiverse has never been stronger. Diego Ramos Bechara, Variety, 5 Feb. 2024 But where Akerman pursued ever bolder applications of this style, Wenders—with a pop-cultural bent—popularized it into a strain of modern melodrama, mixing a trendy chill of alienation with a bittersweet twist of nostalgia. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024 But for Santa Ana residents like Garcia, driving to Costa Mesa to visit Mercado González was bittersweet. Sarah Mosqueda, Los Angeles Times, 27 Feb. 2024 However, the writer-director eventually narrows his focus to a bittersweet romance, unfurling not only the foibles of contemporary caste and class, but the wistful joys and exultations crushed by their bootheels. Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 26 Feb. 2024 Sadly, the track, which is as buoyant and bittersweet as some of the label’s biggest hits, has been, for the most part, forgotten. Melissa Giannini, Rolling Stone, 23 Feb. 2024

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

Word History

First Known Use

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1576, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bittersweet was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near bittersweet

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

bittersweet

1 of 2 noun
bit·​ter·​sweet ˈbit-ər-ˌswēt How to pronounce bittersweet (audio)
1
: a poisonous woody vine of the nightshade family with purple flowers and oval reddish orange berries
2
: a North American woody vine with yellow seedcases that open when ripe to show the scarlet seed covers

bittersweet

2 of 2 adjective
: being both bitter and sweet
a bittersweet story

Medical Definition

bittersweet

noun
bit·​ter·​sweet ˈbit-ər-ˌswēt, ˌbit-ər-ˈ How to pronounce bittersweet (audio)
: a sprawling poisonous weedy nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) with purple flowers and oval reddish orange berries that is the source of dulcamara

More from Merriam-Webster on bittersweet

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!