bitter
pronunciation
How to pronounce bitter in British English:
UK [ˈbɪtə(r)]
How to pronounce bitter in American English:
US [ˈbɪtər]
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- Noun:
- English term for a dry sharp-tasting ale with strong flavor of hops (usually on draft)
- the taste experience when quinine or coffee is taken into the mouth
- the property of having a harsh unpleasant taste
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- Verb:
- make bitter
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- Adjective:
- marked by strong resentment or cynicism
- very difficult to accept or bear
- harsh or corrosive in tone
- one of the four basic taste sensations; sharp and disagreeable; like the taste of quinine
- expressive of severe grief or regret
- proceeding from or exhibiting great hostility or animosity
- causing a sharply painful or stinging sensation; used especially of cold
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- Adverb:
- extremely and sharply
Word Origin
- bitter
- bitter: [OE] Old English biter appears to have come from *bit-, the short-vowel version of *bīt-, source of bite. Its original meaning would thus have been ‘biting’, and although there do not seem to be any traces of this left in the historical record, the sense development to ‘acrid-tasting’ is fairly straightforward (compare the similar case of sharp).It seems likely that the bitter of ‘bitter end’ comes from a different source altogether, although in its current meaning it appears to have been influenced by the adjective bitter. A bitter was originally a ‘turn of a cable round the bitts’, and a bitt was a ‘post on the deck of a ship for fastening cables to’. It is not clear where bitt came from, although it was probably originally a seafarer’s term from the north German coast, and it may be related to English boat.Thus in the first instance ‘to the bitter end’ probably meant ‘to the very end, as far as it is possible to go’.=> bite
- bitter (adj.)
- Old English biter "bitter, sharp, cutting; angry, embittered; cruel," from Proto-Germanic *bitras- (cognates: Old Saxon bittar, Old Norse bitr, Dutch bitter, Old High German bittar, German bitter, Gothic baitrs "bitter"), from PIE root *bheid- "to split" (cognates: Old English bitan "to bite;" see bite (v.)). Evidently the meaning drifted in prehistoric times from "biting, of pungent taste," to "acrid-tasting." Used figuratively in Old English of states of mind and words. Related: Bitterly.
Synonym
Antonym
Example
- 1. The plan doles out bitter medicine to both parties .
- 2. Bitter legal disputes can ensue if pets are involved .
- 3. He is 41 and divorced , with several bitter relationships behind him .
- 4. Victory for silvio berlusconi can rarely have tasted so bitter .
- 5. Bitter herbs have been used traditionally in several cultures to improve digestion .