bitter

 
Pronunciation: /ˈbɪtə/

adjective

  • 1having a sharp, pungent taste or smell; not sweet: raw berries have an intensely bitter flavour
  • (of chocolate) dark and unsweetened.
  • 2feeling or showing anger, hurt, or resentment because of bad experiences or a sense of unjust treatment: I don’t feel jealous or bitter she wept bitter tears of self-reproach
  • (of a conflict, argument, or opponent) full of anger and acrimony: a bitter five-year legal battle
  • 3painful or unpleasant to accept or contemplate: today’s decision has come as a bitter blow she knew from bitter experience how treacherous such feelings could be
  • 4(of wind or weather) intensely cold: a bitter February night

noun

  • 1 [mass noun] British beer that is strongly flavoured with hops and has a bitter taste: a pint of bitter [count noun]: the company brews a range of bitters
  • 2 (bitters) [treated as singular] alcohol flavoured with bitter plant extracts, used as an additive in cocktails or as a medicinal substance to promote appetite or digestion: a dash of bitters

Phrases

to the bitter end

used to indicate that one will continue doing something until it is finished, no matter what: the workers would fight to the bitter end
[perhaps associated with a nautical word bitter denoting the last part of a cable inboard of the bitts, perhaps influenced by the biblical phrase ‘her end is bitter as wormwood’ (Prov. 5:4)]

Derivatives

bitterly

adverb

Origin:

Old English biter, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch and German bitter, and probably to bite