bitter
Listen:Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
bitter/ˈbɪtə(r)/
▶adjective
- 1 having a sharp, pungent taste or smell; not sweet.
- 2 causing pain or unhappiness.
■ feeling or showing angry hurt or resentment.
■ (of a conflict) harsh and acrimonious.
- 3 (of wind or weather) intensely cold.
- 1 Brit. beer that is strongly flavoured with hops and has a bitter taste.
- 2 (bitters) [treated as sing.] alcohol flavoured with bitter plant extracts, used as an additive in cocktails.
– phrases
to the bitter end to the very end, in spite of difficulties.
to the bitter end to the very end, in spite of difficulties.
– derivatives
bitterly adverb,
bitterness noun.
bitterly adverb,
bitterness noun.
– origin OE biter, of Gmc origin.
'bitter' also found in these Oxford entries:
acerbic
- acid
- acidic
- acrid
- acrimonious
- acrimony
- almond oil
- aloe
- amaretti
- amaretto
- amygdalin
- angostura
- artemisia
- astringent
- baneberry
- bile
- bird cherry
- Bitrex
- bitter apple
- bitter gourd
- bitter lemon
- bitterling
- bittern
- bitter orange
- bittersweet
- black and tan
- bloodletting
- camphor
- chokeberry
- colocynth
- curaçao
- diatribe
- dulcamara
- elecampane
- embitter
- endive
- feud
- galbanum
- heavy
- hop
- hydrogen cyanide
- Italian vermouth
- karela
- maraschino
- marmalade
- mask
- maté
- oak leaf
- olive
