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Definition of bitter adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

bitter

adjective
 
 
/ˈbɪtə(r)/
 
/ˈbɪtər/
more bitter and most bitter are the usual comparative and superlative forms, but bitterest can also be used.Idioms
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  1.  
     (of food, etc.) having a strong, unpleasant taste; not sweet
    • Black coffee leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.
    Synonyms bitterbitterpungent ▪ sour ▪ acrid ▪ sharp ▪ acidThese words all describe a strong, unpleasant taste or smell.bitter (of a taste or smell) strong and usually unpleasant; (of food or drink) having a bitter taste.pungent (of a smell or taste) strong and usually unpleasant; (of food or smoke) having a pungent smell or taste:
    • the pungent smell of burning rubber
    sour (of a taste) bitter like the taste of a lemon or of fruit that is not ready to eat; (of food or drink) having a sour taste:
    • Too much pulp produces a sour wine.
    acrid (of a smell or taste) strong and unpleasant; (of smoke) having an acrid smell:
    • acrid smoke from burning tyres
    sharp (of a taste or smell) strong and slightly bitter; (of food or drink) having a sharp taste:
    • The cheese has a distinctively sharp taste.
    acid (of a taste or smell) bitter, like the taste of a lemon or of fruit that is not ready to eat; (of food or drink) having an acid taste.    which word?A bitter taste is usually unpleasant, but some people enjoy the bitter taste of coffee or chocolate. No other word can describe this taste. A sharp or pungent taste is more strong than unpleasant, especially when describing cheese. Sharp, sour and acid all describe the taste of a lemon or a fruit that is not ready to eat. An acrid smell is strong and unpleasant, especially the smell of smoke or burning, but not the smell of food.Patterns
    • a(n) bitter/​pungent/​sour/​acrid/​sharp/​acid taste/​flavour
    • a(n) bitter/​pungent/​acrid/​sharp/​acid smell/​odour
    • a(n) bitter/​sour/​sharp/​acid fruit
    • pungent/​sharp cheese
    • pungent/​acrid smoke
    compare sweet
    Wordfinder
    Extra Examples
    • The drink tasted bitter.
    • This plant is ignored by livestock because of the bitter taste.
    • bitter chocolate
    • (figurative) The whole sorry affair had left a bitter taste in her mouth (= made her feel angry or unhappy).
    Topics Cooking and eatingb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • taste
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    • …
    See full entry
  2.  
     (of arguments, disagreements, etc.) very serious and unpleasant, with a lot of anger and hate involved
    • a long and bitter dispute
    • They are locked in a bitter custody battle over their three children.
    • The candidates are locked in an increasingly bitter struggle.
  3.  
     (of people) feeling angry and unhappy because you feel that you have been treated unfairly
    • She is very bitter about losing her job.
    • The company sounds pretty bitter about the experience.
    Extra Examples
    • I felt very bitter towards them.
    • She still seems bitter about it.
    • The divorce had left him bitter.
    Topics Feelingsb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • feel
    • seem
    • …
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    • …
    preposition
    • about
    • towards/​toward
    See full entry
  4.  
     [usually before noun] making you feel very unhappy; caused by great unhappiness
    • to weep/shed bitter tears
    • Losing the match was a bitter disappointment for the team.
    • I've learnt from bitter experience not to trust what he says.
    Extra Examples
    • Loving relationships can turn bitter.
    • She bit her lip hard to stop the rush of bitter words.
  5.  
     (of weather conditions) extremely cold and unpleasant
    • bitter cold
    • a bitter wind
    • It's really bitter out today.
    • The weather turned bitter.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs
    • be
    • become
    • turn
    • …
    adverb
    • extremely
    • fairly
    • very
    • …
    See full entry
    6. Word OriginOld English biter, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch and German bitter, and probably to bite.
Idioms
a bitter pill (for somebody) (to swallow)
  1. a fact or an event that is unpleasant and difficult to accept
    • The election defeat was a bitter pill for the party to swallow.
to/until the bitter end
  1. continuing until you have done everything you can, or until something is completely finished, despite difficulties and problems
    • They were prepared to fight to the bitter end for their rights.
    • We will fight this case to the bitter end.
See bitter in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee bitter in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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sufficiently
adverb
 
 
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