bittersweetTranslate bittersweet | into Italian | into Spanish Definition of bittersweet adjective 1(of food or drink) sweet with a bitter aftertaste: she sipped the bittersweet drink the ale has a fine bittersweet nutty taste 2arousing pleasure tinged with sadness or pain:bittersweet memories of his time in London noun 1another term for woody nightshade (see nightshade). 2a vine-like American climbing plant which bears clusters of bright orange pods. Genus Celastrus, family Celastraceae: several species 3 (also bittersweet shell) a widely distributed bivalve mollusc which has a pale rounded shell that is typically marked with wavy lines. Genus Glycymeris, family Glycymeridae bittersweet in other Oxford dictionaries Definition of bittersweet in the US English dictionary