bitter

CEFRB1

/ˈbɪt.ə/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    marked by strong resentment or cynicism.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Harsh, piercing, acerbic or stinging.

Examples

  • Black coffee leaves a bitter taste in the mouth.

  • Laugh as much as you like; I'll stick to my plan to the bitter end.

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • [ˈbɪʔ.ə]

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Hateful or hostile.

  2. Having an acrid taste (usually from a basic substance).

  3. Cynical and resentful.

More examples

In context

  • Whatever happens, I'll stick to my principles to the bitter end.

  • It was at the end of February, […] when the world was cold, and a bitter wind howled down the moors […].

  • The coffee tasted bitter.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The coffee was so blank that she added three spoons of sugar to it.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

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, West Frisian, Low German, Danish, Dutch, German, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish bitter, Icelandic bitur (all meaning “bitter”).