# bitter

Pronunciation: US say "BIT-ur" /ˈbɪ.tɚ/; UK say "BIT-uh" /ˈbɪt.ə(ɹ)/

## Adjective

1. Having the sharp, often unpleasant taste of things like black coffee, quinine or hops, one of the basic tastes.
   - Simple: Having a sharp, unpleasant taste, like black coffee or grapefruit skin.
   - _The wild greens turned bitter once the plant began to flower._
   - _Dark chocolate can taste quite bitter when it contains little sugar._
2. Marked by cynicism and lasting resentment toward people or circumstances.
   - Simple: Feeling angry and hurt for a long time because of something unfair.
   - _He grew bitter after losing both his job and his home in the same year._
   - _Years of rejection left her bitter and withdrawn from old friends._
3. Marked by hatred or open hostility, as between fierce opponents.
   - Simple: Full of strong hate, like enemies who want to hurt each other.
   - _The two nations remained locked in a bitter conflict for a decade._
   - _What began as a small disagreement grew into a bitter feud._
4. Harsh, piercing, and stinging, as of severe cold or sharply critical speech.
   - Simple: Very harsh and sharp, like a freezing wind or cruel words.
   - _A bitter wind cut straight across the open field._
   - _We walked home through the bitter cold, our faces stinging in the wind._
7. Bringing sorrow, hurt or disappointment that a person struggles to come to terms with.
   - Simple: Making you feel very sad, hurt or let down, and hard to accept.
   - _After a bitter loss in the semifinal, the coach refused to speak to reporters._
   - _Losing the family farm was the bitterest blow of her life._

## Noun

5. A liquid or powder made from bitter herbs, used to flavor mixed drinks or taken as a tonic.
   - Simple: A strong-tasting liquid or powder made from herbs, added to drinks or used as a tonic.
   - _The bartender shook a few dashes of orange bitters into the glass._
   - _Her grandfather swore by a splash of bitters in warm water after dinner to help his digestion._
6. A type of beer given a strong flavor by a heavy dose of hops.
   - Simple: A British beer with a strong, sharp flavor from a heavy dose of hops.
   - _He ordered a pint of bitter at the corner pub._
   - _The local brewery is famous for its smooth, malty bitter._

## Verb

8. To give something a bitter taste.
   - Simple: To make something taste bitter.
   - _Early in the boil, she adds a handful of hops to bitter the wort._
   - _Our brewery uses a single kind of hop to bitter all of its ales._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A computer or other hardware system built to handle data in units of a stated number of bits (binary digits).
- (noun) A single turn of a cable taken around the bitts, the sturdy posts fixed to a ship's deck.

## Origin

From Middle English "bitter," from Old English "bitter" (bitter), going back to Proto-Germanic "*bitraz," and equivalent to "bite" plus the agent suffix "-er." It is cognate with Dutch, German, and Swedish "bitter."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/bitter (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).