bitter

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Having a sharp, unpleasant taste that is not sweet.

   The coffee was too bitter for me to drink.

2. 2
   adj

   Feeling angry or full of hurt because you think you have been treated unfairly.

   She felt bitter about losing her job.

3. 3
   adj

   Very hard to accept or bear.

   Losing the final was a bitter disappointment.

4. 4
   adj

   (of weather or wind) Very cold and harsh.

   A bitter wind howled across the empty moor.

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bʰidrós Proto-Germanic *bitraz Proto-West Germanic *bitr Old English biter Middle English bittre English bitter From Middle English bitter, bittre, from Old English bitter, biter (“bitter”), from Proto-West Germanic *bitr, from Proto-Germanic *bitraz (“bitter”), equivalent to bite + -er (agent noun suffix) used attributively. Cognate with Saterland Frisian bitter, West Frisian bitter, Low German bitter, Dutch bitter, German bitter, Swedish bitter, Icelandic bitur (all meaning “bitter”).

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