| / English Dictionary |
BITTER
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
The property of having a harsh unpleasant taste
Synonyms:
bitter; bitterness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("bitter" is a kind of...):
taste property (a property appreciated via the sense of taste)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "bitter"):
acerbity (a sharp bitterness)
acridity; acridness (extreme bitterness)
Derivation:
bitter (make bitter)
bitter (causing a sharp and acrid taste experience)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The taste experience when quinine or coffee is taken into the mouth
Synonyms:
bitter; bitterness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("bitter" is a kind of...):
gustatory perception; gustatory sensation; taste; taste perception; taste sensation (the sensation that results when taste buds in the tongue and throat convey information about the chemical composition of a soluble stimulus)
Derivation:
bitter (causing a sharp and acrid taste experience)
Sense 3
Meaning:
English term for a dry sharp-tasting ale with strong flavor of hops (usually on draft)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting foods and drinks
Hypernyms ("bitter" is a kind of...):
ale (a general name for beer made with a top fermenting yeast; in some of the United States an ale is (by law) a brew of more than 4% alcohol by volume)
Domain region:
Britain; Great Britain; U.K.; UK; United Kingdom; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (a monarchy in northwestern Europe occupying most of the British Isles; divided into England and Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland; 'Great Britain' is often used loosely to refer to the United Kingdom)
Derivation:
bitter (causing a sharp and acrid taste experience)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Marked by strong resentment or cynicism
Example:
bitter about the divorce
Synonyms:
acrimonious; bitter
Classified under:
Similar:
resentful (full of or marked by resentment or indignant ill will)
Derivation:
bitterness (a rough and bitter manner)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Proceeding from or exhibiting great hostility or animosity
Example:
bitter enemies
Classified under:
Similar:
hostile (characterized by enmity or ill will)
Derivation:
bitterness (a feeling of deep and bitter anger and ill-will)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Expressive of severe grief or regret
Example:
shed bitter tears
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
sorrowful (experiencing or marked by or expressing sorrow especially that associated with irreparable loss)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Causing a sharply painful or stinging sensation; used especially of cold
Example:
a biting wind
Synonyms:
biting; bitter
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
painful (causing physical or psychological pain)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Harsh or corrosive in tone
Example:
a vitriolic critique
Synonyms:
acerb; acerbic; acid; acrid; bitter; blistering; caustic; sulfurous; sulphurous; virulent; vitriolic
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
unpleasant (offensive or disagreeable; causing discomfort or unhappiness)
Derivation:
bitterness (a rough and bitter manner)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Causing a sharp and acrid taste experience
Example:
quinine is bitter
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
tasty (pleasing to the sense of taste)
Derivation:
bitter (the property of having a harsh unpleasant taste)
bitter (the taste experience when quinine or coffee is taken into the mouth)
bitter (English term for a dry sharp-tasting ale with strong flavor of hops (usually on draft))
Sense 7
Meaning:
Very difficult to accept or bear
Example:
a bitter sorrow
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
intolerable; unbearable; unendurable (incapable of being tolerated or endured)
III. (verb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Make bitter
Classified under:
Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling
Hypernyms (to "bitter" is one way to...):
change taste (alter the flavor of)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Derivation:
bitter (the property of having a harsh unpleasant taste)
IV. (adverb)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Extremely and sharply
Example:
bitter cold
Synonyms:
bitingly; bitter; bitterly; piercingly
Classified under:
Context examples:
It will be cold and bitter, Watson, and a good many of us may wither before its blast.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
His eyes especially were meshed round with wrinkles, as is natural for one who had puckered them all his life in facing foul wind and bitter weather.
(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
A colorless, odorless crystalline, aromatic amine with a bitter taste.
(Amitrole, NCI Thesaurus)
Bitter fennel fruit oil can be used as treatment for digestive complaints.
(Bitter Fennel Fruit Oil, NCI Thesaurus)
Caffeine is a bitter substance found in coffee, tea, soft drinks, chocolate, kola nuts, and certain medicines.
(Caffeine, Food and Drug Administration)
I leave a sad and bitter world; and if you remember me and think of me as of one unjustly condemned, I am resigned to the fate awaiting me.
(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)
As humans domesticated watermelons over the past 4,000 years, they selected fruits that were red, sweet and less bitter, said Zhangjun Fei of the Boyce Thompson Institute and co-leader of the effort.
(Harvesting genes to improve watermelons, National Science Foundation)
In fact, companies often remove these compounds intentionally because of their bitter taste.
(Can Chocolate Really Be Good for You?, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
The mustards, broccolis and cabbages of the world share a distinct and bitter taste.
(Is a milder mustard on the way?, National Science Foundation)
It was a bitter cold winter, with long, hard frosts and heavy gales; and it was plain from the first that my poor father was little likely to see the spring.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
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