BITTER | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of bitter in English bitteradjective uk /ˈbɪt.ər/ us /ˈbɪt̬.ɚ/

bitter adjective (ANGRY)

Add to word list Add to word list B2 Someone who is bitter is angry and unhappy because they cannot forget bad things that happened in the past: I feel very bitter about my childhood and all that I went through. She'd suffered terribly over the years but it hadn't made her bitter. B2 A bitter experience causes deep pain or anger: Failing the final exams was a bitter disappointment for me. She learned through bitter experience that he was not to be trusted. B2 expressing a lot of hate and anger: a bitter fight/argument bitter recriminations He gave me a bitter look.

• They had a bitter quarrel over some money three years ago and they haven't spoken to each other since.
• They were bitter foes for many years.
• a bitter dispute
• She cried bitter tears when she got the letter.
• They had a bitter, messy divorce.

Angry and displeased

• acridly
• acrimonious
• acrimoniously
• aggrieved
• aggrievedly
• fed up
• fed up to the back teeth idiom
• fed up with something/doing something
• fired up
• fit to be tied idiom
• mardy
• miffed
• murder
• not be a happy camper idiom
• outraged
• venomously
• volatility
• warpath
• wound up
• wrathful

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Sadness and regret Serious and unpleasant

bitter adjective (TASTE)

B1 with an unpleasantly sharp taste: a bitter flavour/taste/liquid

• Radicchio has a slightly bitter flavour.
• The tip of the tongue is sensitive to salt and sweet stimuli and the back of the tongue is sensitive to bitter stimuli.
• In today's lesson we'll look at the four types of tastes - sweet, salty, bitter and sour.
• The additive quinine, which you find in tonic water, is very bitter.
• They add syrup to the medicine to try and mask the bitter taste.

Flavours & tastes

• acidic
• acidulous
• acridly
• aftertaste
• ageusia
• flavourless
• flavoursome
• fruitily
• fruitiness
• full-bodied
• pungently
• saltily
• saltiness
• salty
• savory
• unseasoned
• unsweetened
• velvety
• vinous
• winey

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Not pleasant to eat or drink

bitter adjective (COLD)

B2 Bitter weather is extremely cold, especially in a way that causes physical pain: a bitter wind Wrap up warmly - it's bitter outside. Synonyms Arctic figurative biting (COLD) freezing glacial (ICE/COLD) having temperature lower than what is comfortable

• coldBrr, it's cold outside!
• bitterWrap up warmly - it's bitter outside!
• freezingIt's absolutely freezing in here!
• bitingA biting wind blew in her face as she opened the door.
• icyAn icy wind whistled across the plain.

See more results » Cold

• Arctic
• Baltic
• bitingly
• bone-chilling
• brass
• chill
• chill factor
• chilled
• frostbite
• frozen
• frozen solid
• glacially
• isothermal
• isothermally
• keenness
• minus
• nippy
• parky
• perishing
• wintry

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Idioms

the bitter fruits of something a bitter pill (to swallow) to the bitter end bitternoun [ U ] uk /ˈbɪt.ər/ us /ˈbɪt̬.ɚ/ UK a type of dark brown beer with a bitter taste: a pint of bitter Compare mild noun  bitters a strong, bitter alcoholic drink made from spices and plant products that is mixed with other alcoholic drinks: Why not use different bitters to spice up classic drinks? See more Beer & cider

• ale
• barley wine
• beer
• beer mat
• beer mug
• hard cider
• home brew
• hophead
• hoppy
• IPA
• jar
• mild
• pint
• porter
• real ale
• rough cider
• scrumpy
• shandy
• spile
• stout

See more results » (Definition of bitter from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

bitter | American Dictionary

bitteradjective us /ˈbɪt̬·ər/

bitter adjective (TASTE)

Add to word list Add to word list having a slightly stinging, strong taste, not salty or sweet: The coffee was bitter.

bitter adjective (ANGRY)

showing or causing deep anger and pain: Losing the election was a bitter disappointment.

bitterness

noun [ U ] us /ˈbɪt̬·ər·nəs/ She has no bitterness about the past.

Idiom

to the bitter end bitteradjective, adverb us /ˈbɪt̬·ər/

bitter adjective, adverb (COLD)

extremely cold: A bitter wind kept everyone indoors. (Definition of bitter from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of bitter

bitter The recriminations that followed the 1940 general strike developed the differences between trade unions and their leaders into bitter conflicts and antagonisms. From the Cambridge English Corpus The official mind remained determined to the bitter end to preserve the symmetry of the promotion pyramid. From the Cambridge English Corpus When convicted, there was only so much they could do to prevent a sentence of exemplary harshness and a bitter gaol experience. From the Cambridge English Corpus So deep and bitter was the disagreement, that it affected professional historians as much as practising politicians and the general public. From the Cambridge English Corpus They know from bitter experience that politicians' promises of prosperity can easily evaporate into deepening poverty and widening income gaps. From the Cambridge English Corpus They were not bitter exaggerations by frustrated entrepreneurs, but plausible explanations of why ventures had collapsed. From the Cambridge English Corpus Time to stop the little saltmill grinding, before everything else has become bitter. From the Cambridge English Corpus This was a dispute that was as bitter as it was pointless, because ultimately insoluble. From the Cambridge English Corpus The boy is angry and bitter and wants his fake father to stay in jail. From the Cambridge English Corpus Instead, his narrative ends with a bitter truism: everyone is alone, whether in captivity or liberty. From the Cambridge English Corpus The sounds that emanate from the orchestra pit ... contrast the ideal nobility ... with the bitter reality on stage. From the Cambridge English Corpus The bitter division within congregations, however, underlines the truth that to introduce sudden and drastic changes in worship is to invite confrontation. From the Cambridge English Corpus This definition at karela may send one scurrying to balsam pear and bitter gourd for clarification or confirmation. From the Cambridge English Corpus Given the opera's subsequent bitter history, this endorsement is not without irony. From the Cambridge English Corpus The note contains a bitter curse whose effect is surprisingly mixed. From the Cambridge English Corpus See all examples of bitter These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. What is the pronunciation of bitter?

Translations of bitter

in Chinese (Traditional) 愩怒，怒氣, 極為不滿的, 怨恨的… See more in Chinese (Simplified) 愤怒，怒气, 极为不满的, 怨恨的… See more in Spanish resentido, amargo, de resentimiento… See more in Portuguese amargo, ressentido, penoso… See more in Marathi in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Tamil in Hindi in Gujarati in Danish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Urdu in Ukrainian in Telugu in Bengali in Czech in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Korean in Italian कटू, भूतकाळातील काही वाईट घटना विसरता न आल्याने मनात राग आणि दुःख असण्याची भावना, कडवट… See more 苦い, 苦味のある, 腹を立てている… See more kızgın, içerlemiş, çok kötü… See more amer/amère, âpre, violent/-ente… See more amarg, ressentit, glacial… See more bitter, zuur, snijdend… See more ஒருவர் கோபமாகவும், மகிழ்ச்சியற்றவராகவும் இருக்கிறார், ஏனென்றால் கடந்த காலத்தில் நடந்த மோசமான மற்றும் கசப்பான விஷயங்களை அவர்களால் மறக்க முடியாததால்.… See more (स्वभाव में) कड़वाहट, द्वेषपूर्ण, (स्वाद का) कड़वा… See more (પ્રકૃતિ માં) કડવું, દ્વેષપૂર્ણ, ઘણો નફરત અને ગુસ્સો વ્યક્ત કરવો… See more bitter, bidende… See more bitter, besk, förbittrad… See more pahit, pengalaman pahit, penuh kebencian… See more bitter, bitterkalt… See more bitter, besk, forbitret… See more کڑواہٹ, تلخی, شدیدغصہ اور ناراضگی… See more гіркий, гострий, запеклий… See more చేదు, కటువైన, పుల్లని… See more তিক্ত, কোনো ব্যক্তি তিক্ত, রাগান্বিত এবং অসন্তুষ্ট কারণ অতীতে ঘটে যাওয়া খারাপ ঘটনাগুলি ভুলতে পারে না।… See more kyselý, hořký, drsný… See more pahit, getir, penuh kebencian… See more ขม, ขมขื่น, ซึ่งเป็นศัตรู… See more đắng, cay đắng, gay gắt… See more rozgoryczony, zaciekły, zawzięty… See more 쓴, 화가난, 혹독히 추운… See more amaro, risentito, (freddo) pungente… See more Need a translator?

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More meanings of bitter

• bitter end
• bitter almond
• bitter lemon
• bitter orange
• bitter chocolate
• to the bitter end idiom
• fight to the bitter end, at fight to the death

See all meanings

• to the bitter end idiom
• a bitter pill (to swallow) idiom
• the bitter fruits of something idiom
• until the bitter end, at to the bitter end idiom

See all idioms and phrases

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UK /ɡəʊl/ US /ɡoʊl/

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• English   
  • Adjective 
    • bitter (ANGRY)
    • bitter (TASTE)
    • bitter (COLD)
  • Noun 
    • bitter
    • bitters
• American   
  • Adjective 
    • bitter (TASTE)
    • bitter (ANGRY)
  • Noun 
    • bitterness
  • Adjective, adverb 
    • bitter (COLD)
• Examples

• Translations
• Grammar
• All translations

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