bitter

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈbɪ.tɚ/ UK /ˈbɪt.ə/ See IPA manual

Freq #3793

Meanings

1

adj
Having a sharp, unpleasant taste that is not sweet.

The coffee was too bitter for me to drink.
2

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

She felt bitter about losing her job.
3

adj
Very hard to accept or bear.

Losing the final was a bitter disappointment.
4

adj
(of weather or wind) Very cold and harsh.

A bitter wind howled across the empty moor.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

acerb acerbic acridbittersomecausticepasharp

Opposites

optimistic sweet

Word family

Forms bittererbitterestbitters

Derived forms bitter-cressbitter-leafbitter-sweetbitterbrushbitterbushbittercressbitterfulbitterishbitterlessbitterlingbitterlybittermelon

Related forms bitterness

Appears in

Phrases (1)

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bitter sorrow
deep sadness that feels especially painful or hard to accept

Adjective + noun

Idioms (1)

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a bitter pill to swallow
an unpleasant fact or situation that must be accepted

Proverbs (1)

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The weed of crime bears bitter fruit

Tongue twisters (1)

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Betty Botter
Betty Botter bought some butter. “But,” she said, “this butter’s bitter; If I put it in my batter, It will make my batter bitter; But a bit of better butter Will but make my batter better.” So she bought a bit of butter Better than the bitter butter, And made her bitter batter better. So it was better Betty Botter Bought a bit of better butter.

Compare the vowels in bit, better, batter and butter while keeping /b/ steady. Use your normal accent for the middle consonant of Betty, ...

Simplified etymology

Bitter is an Old English word related to bite and bit, referring to a taste experienced as biting. The bitter in bitter end probably has a separate nautical origin: it meant the final part of a cable secured around the bitts of a ship.

Etymology

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”).

*bʰeyd- Proto-Indo-European bitter Old English *bitr Proto-West Germanic *bitraz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

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# bitter

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈbɪ.tɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈbɪt.ə/
**Frequency rank:** 3793

## Meanings
1. Having a sharp, unpleasant taste that is not sweet.
2. Feeling angry or full of hurt because you think you have been treated unfairly.
3. Very hard to accept or bear.
4. (of weather or wind) Very cold and harsh.

## Examples
- The coffee was too bitter for me to drink.
- She felt bitter about losing her job.
- Losing the final was a bitter disappointment.
- A bitter wind howled across the empty moor.

## Synonyms
- acerb
- acerbic
- acrid
- bittersome
- caustic
- epa
- sharp

## Antonyms
- optimistic
- sweet

## Derived Forms
- bitter-cress
- bitter-leaf
- bitter-sweet
- bitterbrush
- bitterbush
- bittercress
- bitterful
- bitterish
- bitterless
- bitterling
- bitterly
- bittermelon

## Related Forms
- bitterness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *bʰeyd-
- Root: bitter
- Root: *bitr
- Root: *bitraz

## Etymology
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”).

## AI Etymology
Bitter comes 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”). Bitter follows a historical chain through Proto-Indo-European *bʰidrós, Proto-Germanic *bitraz, Proto-West Germanic *bitr, Old English biter, Middle English bittre, English bitter.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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bitter

Meanings

Thesaurus

Appears in

Phrases (1)

Idioms (1)

Proverbs (1)

Tongue twisters (1)

Simplified etymology

Etymology

Topics

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