bitter

1 of 4

adjective

bit·ter ˈbi-tər

: 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

: distasteful or distressing to the mind : galling

a bitter sense of shame

: marked by intensity or severity:

: accompanied by severe pain or suffering

a bitter death

: being relentlessly determined : vehement

a bitter partisan

: 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

: intensely unpleasant especially in coldness or rawness

a bitter wind

: caused by or expressive of severe pain, grief, or regret

bitter tears

bitterish

ˈbi-tə-rish

adjective

bitterly adverb

bitterness noun

bitter

2 of 4

noun

: bitter quality

… stepping outside your comfort zone and taking the bitter with the sweet.

James Poniewoziks

: 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

bitters ˈbi-tərz

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)

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.

Example Sentences

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 See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The judge ruled that Mr. Olmert had defamed Mr. Netanyahu; Mr. Netanyahu’s wife, Sara; and their eldest son, Yair, in a television interview that Mr. Olmert gave around the time of a bitter and inconclusive election in the spring of 2021.

Isabel Kershner, New York Times, 21 Nov. 2022 And the schism between A.I. Safety and A.I. ethics is increasingly entrenched and bitter.

Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 15 Nov. 2022 Irizarry’s story, which some former colleagues have attacked as a fictionalized attempt to reduce his sentence, came in days of contrite, bitter, sometimes tearful interviews with the AP in the historic quarter of his native San Juan.

Jim Mustian And Joshua Goodman, cleveland, 14 Nov. 2022 Irizarry's story, which some former colleagues have attacked as a fictionalized attempt to reduce his sentence, came in days of contrite, bitter, sometimes tearful interviews with the AP in the historic quarter of his native San Juan.

CBS News, 14 Nov. 2022 Irizarry’s story, which some former colleagues have attacked as a fictionalized attempt to reduce his sentence, came in days of contrite, bitter, sometimes tearful interviews with the AP in the historic quarter of his native San Juan.

Jim Mustian And Joshua Goodman, Anchorage Daily News, 14 Nov. 2022 Emotions from a bitter and polarizing midterm election cycle crescendoed on Tuesday as Bay Area voters headed to the polls to cast their ballots — and then anxiously waited for results.

Dustin Gardiner, San Francisco Chronicle, 12 Nov. 2022 More political violence is likely in coming weeks as a hard-fought and bitter midterm election comes to a close, and an even angrier presidential election season begins.

Jeremi Suri, Time, 2 Nov. 2022 With notes of cacao and bitter fruits, Nocheluna Sotol even has the approval of Kravitz's friends and family, including his daughter Zoë Kravitz.

Maggie Kreienberg, Peoplemag, 21 Oct. 2022

Noun

To make it, blend tender kale leaves (be sure to skip the bitter-tasting stems) with rum, simple syrup, lime juice, and ice for a cocktail appropriately colored for St. Patrick's Day.

Sarah Martens, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 Oct. 2022 Stir the vermouth mix and vodka over ice and strain into a martini glass coated with the bitter of choice.

Joanne Shurvell, Forbes, 17 June 2022 The price is also a reflection of the medicinal value some people attribute to the bitter-tasting honey.

María Luisa Paúl, Washington Post, 12 Aug. 2022 In contrast, landing on cards with odd numbers resulted in a bitter-tasting quinine.

Tim Newcomb, Popular Mechanics, 5 May 2022 The tonic became a popular bitter in the Caribbean and Europe soon after Linnaeus named the plant, and the bark of the plant became a major Suriname export.

Uwagbale Edward-ekpu, Quartz, 25 Jan. 2022 As far back as the 18th century, apothecaries were known to sweeten their bitter-tasting herbal remedies with sugar and prescribe sugar candy to treat ailments.

Anna Haines, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2021 It is typically sold as a bitter-tasting powder, which can be made into a tea or swallowed in capsules.

Maia Szalavitz, Scientific American, 12 Aug. 2021 Other favorite ingredients that bring out the brashness include angelica, wormwood, cinchona bark, licorice, green cardamom, mint, and everyone’s favorite Christmas bitter, myrrh.

Beth Segal, cleveland, 28 May 2021

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

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 Tonic is in another category altogether and best left for your G&Ts; the bitter-tasting quinine is usually balanced by a fair amount of sugar, and the more pronounced flavor can alter your cocktail’s taste.

Adrienne Donica, Popular Mechanics, 11 July 2020 Once the weather starts getting hot, your celery will start producing seeds and turn bitter, much the way that lettuce bolts in the heat.

Jeanette Marantosstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2020 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bitter.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Bitter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bitter. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.

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Kids Definition

bitter

adjective

bit·ter

ˈbit-ər

: 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

: hard to accept or bear : painful

bitter disappointment

: sharp and resentful

a bitter reply

: unpleasantly cold

a bitter wind

bitterly adverb

bitterness noun

Medical Definition

bitter

adjective

bit·ter ˈbit-ər

: 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