bitter

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbɪt.ə/, [ˈbɪt.ʰə], (colloquially also) [ˈbɪʔ.ə]
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈbɪ.tɚ/, [ˈbɪ.ɾɚ]

• Audio (US):

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• Homophone: bidder (in some dialects)
• Hyphenation: bit‧ter
• Rhymes: -ɪtə(ɹ)

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”).

bitter (comparative more bitter or bitterer, superlative most bitter or bitterest)

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

   The coffee tasted bitter.

   • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, chapter III, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC:

     Long after his cigar burnt bitter, he sat with eyes fixed on the blaze. When the flames at last began to flicker and subside, his lids fluttered, then drooped; but he had lost all reckoning of time when he opened them again to find Miss Erroll in furs and ball-gown kneeling on the hearth […].

   • 2018 May 16, Adam Rogers, “The Fundamental Nihilism of Yanny vs. Laurel”, in Wired:

     A few types of molecules get sensed by receptors on the tongue. Protons coming off of acids ping receptors for "sour." Sugars get received as "sweet." Bitter, salty, and the proteinaceous flavor umami all set off their own neural cascades.

2. Harsh, piercing, acerbic or stinging.
   • 1999, Neil Gaiman, Stardust, p.31 (Perennial paperback edition)

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

3. Hateful or hostile.

   They're bitter enemies.

   • 2022 October 1, Phil McNulty, “Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham: Gunners show identity & direction in outstanding derby win”, in BBC Sport‎^[1]:

     Tottenham have not won in the Premier League at Emirates Stadium for 12 years, with Arsenal losing just one of their last 29 home league games against their bitter rivals.

   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC:

     He inveighed against the folly of making oneself liable for the debts of others; vented many bitter execrations against the brother; and concluded with wishing something could be done for the unfortunate family.

   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Colossians 3:19:

     Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.

4. Cynical and resentful.

   I've been bitter ever since that defeat.

• The comparative forms bitterer and bitterest are less common than their counterparts more bitter and most bitter.

• acrid, caustic
• (cynical and resentful): jaded

• (antonym(s) of “cynical and resentful”): optimistic

• Sranan Tongo: bita

• bitter end

bitter (comparative more bitter, superlative most bitter)

1. To an intense or severe degree; bitterly.
   • 2012, Mir Bahmanyar, Darby's Rangers 1942–45, page 26:

     A dynamic personality in the outfit, he met his death in the bitter-fought engagements in Venafro.

   • 2022, Ernest Haycox, The Complete Novels: Son of the West, Saddle and Ride, Action by Night, The Silver Desert, Bugles in the Afternoon:

     After that bitter-spoken warning, talk ceased outside […] .

   • 2022, Bec McMaster, Flames and Fated Mates: Six Seductive Fantasy Romance Novels:

     The dream of it ached, bitter and sharp, for that was all it was.

bitter (countable and uncountable, plural bitters)

1. (usually in the plural bitters) A liquid or powder, made from bitter herbs, used in mixed drinks or as a tonic.
   • 1773, Oliver Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer:

     Thus I begin: "All is not gold that glitters,
     "Pleasure seems sweet, but proves a glass of bitters.

2. A type of beer heavily flavored with hops.
3. (nautical) A turn of a cable about the bitts.

• (beer): English pale ale, EPA

Basic tastes in English (layout · text)
sweet	sour	salty	bitter	spicy	savory

bitter (third-person singular simple present bitters, present participle bittering, simple past and past participle bittered)

1. (archaic) To make bitter.
   • 1766, John Wilkinson, Tutamen Nauticum:

     bittered with the hop

• “bitter”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

From bit + -er.

bitter (plural bitters)

1. (computing, informal, in combination) A hardware system whose architecture is based around units of the specified number of bits (binary digits).
   • 1983, Computerworld, volume 17, number 49, page 21:

     However, 16-bitters are far more expensive than the 8-bit variety. And, unfortunately, have only a handful of business applications software packages that really take advantage of them.

   • 1984, Electronic Business, volume 10, page 154:

     The company believes that the 32-bit market will almost equal that of 16-bitters by the end of the decade. Chip maker Zilog Inc., not a major player in the 16-bit arena, is even more bullish about 32-bitters as it readies its own version for market.

From Dutch bitter, from Middle Dutch bitter, from Old Dutch bitter, from Proto-West Germanic *bitr.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbətər/

bitter (attributive bitter or bittere, comparative bitterder, superlative bitterste)

1. bitter (having an acrid taste)
2. very

Basic tastes in Afrikaans · smake (layout · text)
soet	suur	sout	bitter	skerp	-

Borrowed from Middle Low German bitter.

bitter (neuter bittert, plural and definite singular attributive bitre)

1. bitter (all meanings)

• bitterhed
• forbitret

Basic tastes in Danish (layout · text)
sød	sur	salt	bitter	stærk	umami

A nominalization of the adjective.

bitter c (singular definite bitteren, plural indefinite bittere)

1. bitter (the liquid used in drinks)
2. A bitter form of an aquavit

Borrowed from English bitter.

bitter c

1. bitter (type of beer - only known generally in Denmark for a few years)

From Middle Dutch bitter, from Old Dutch bitter, from Proto-West Germanic *bitr.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɪtər/

• Audio:

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• Hyphenation: bit‧ter
• Rhymes: -ɪtər

bitter (comparative bitterder, superlative bitterst)

1. bitter (having an acrid taste)
2. bitter, embittered

Declension of bitter
uninflected	bitter
inflected	bittere
comparative	bitterder
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		bitter	bitterder	het bitterst het bitterste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	bittere	bitterdere	bitterste
	n. sing.	bitter	bitterder	bitterste
	plural	bittere	bitterdere	bitterste
definite		bittere	bitterdere	bitterste
partitive		bitters	bitterders	—

• Afrikaans: bitter
• Negerhollands: bitter, better, bitu
• → Caribbean Hindustani: bitá
• → Saramaccan: bíta
• → Sranan Tongo: bita

• (tastes) smaak; bitter, zoet, zout, zuur ^{(Category: nl:Taste)}

bitter m or n (plural bitters, diminutive bittertje n)

1. bitters, a type of strong spirits made by steeping (often bitter) herbs in brandy or jenever, traditionally considered a digestive drink

   Synonym: kruidenbitter

   Zonder zijn gebruikelijke bittertje om vier uur voelde Opa zich niet lekker. ― Without his regular shot of bitter at four o'clock, Grandpa wouldn't feel well.

When used in a countable sense (a serving of bitter), the diminutive is the usual form.

• Afrikaans: bitter
• → Caribbean Hindustani: bitá
• → Catalan: bíter
• → Papiamentu: beter, bitter
• → Saramaccan: bíta
• → Sranan Tongo: bita

• The article Bitters on Wikipedia

From English bitter.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbiter/, [ˈbit̪e̞r]
• IPA^(key): /ˈbitːer/, [ˈbit̪ːe̞r]
• Rhymes: -itːer
• Syllabification^(key): bit‧ter
• Hyphenation^(key): bit‧ter

bitter

1. bitter (type of beer)

• “bitter”, in Kielitoimiston sanakirja [Dictionary of Contemporary Finnish]‎^[2] (in Finnish) (online dictionary, continuously updated), Kotimaisten kielten keskuksen verkkojulkaisuja 35, Helsinki: Kotimaisten kielten tutkimuskeskus (Institute for the Languages of Finland), 2004–, retrieved 2 July 2023

• IPA^(key): /bi.te/

• Audio (Paris):

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• Audio (France (Somain)):

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• Audio (France (Vosges)):

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• Audio (France (Lyon)):

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• Audio (France (Lyon)):

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bitter

1. (transitive, slang) to understand, usually used in negative form and especially with rien

   Synonym: comprendre

   J’ai rien bitté au cours.

   I got nothing of the class

• “bitter”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012

From Middle High German bitter, pitter, from Old High German bittar, from Proto-West Germanic *bitr.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɪ.tɐ/

• Audio (Germany (Berlin)):

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bitter (strong nominative masculine singular bitterer, comparative bitterer, superlative am bittersten)

1. bitter

• (tastes) Geschmack; bitter, salzig, sauer, süß ^{(Category: de:Taste)}

• bitterkalt
• bittersüß
• Bitterkeit
• verbittern

Basic tastes in German (layout · text)
süß	sauer	salzig	bitter	scharf	herzhaft

bitter

1. bitterly

   Synonym: verbittert

• “bitter” in Duden online
• “bitter”, in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache‎^[3] (in German)
• “bitter” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.

Pseudo-anglicism, a clipping of English bitters.

bitter m (invariable)

1. bitters

From Old Dutch bitter, from Proto-West Germanic *bitr.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɪtːər/

bitter

1. bitter (taste)
2. sad, painful

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

• Dutch: bitter
• Limburgish: bitter

• “bitter”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929), “bitter”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN

From Middle Low German bitter and Old Norse bitr.

bitter (neuter singular bittert, definite singular and plural bitre, comparative bitrere, indefinite superlative bitrest, definite superlative bitreste)

1. bitter

• bitterhet

• “bitter” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

From Middle Low German bitter and Old Norse bitr.

bitter (neuter singular bittert, definite singular and plural bitre, comparative bitrare, indefinite superlative bitrast, definite superlative bitraste)

1. bitter

• “bitter” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

From Proto-West Germanic *bitr, from Proto-Germanic *bitraz.

bitter

1. bitter

• Middle Dutch: bitter
  • Dutch: bitter
  • Limburgish: bitter

• “bitter”, in Oudnederlands Woordenboek, 2012

• IPA^(key): /ˈbit.ter/

bitter

1. alternative form of biter

• IPA^(key): /ˈbit.ter/

bitter

1. alternative form of bittar

• Joseph Wright, An Old High German Primer

From Old Norse bitr (partly through the influence of Middle Low German bitter), from Proto-Germanic *bitraz.

• Audio:

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bitter (comparative bittrare, superlative bittrast)

1. bitter; having an acrid taste
2. bitter; hateful
3. bitter; resentful

• besk

• “bitter”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)
• “bitter”, in Svenska Akademiens ordlista [Wordlist of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)
• “bitter”, in Svenska Akademiens ordbok [Dictionary of the Swedish Academy] (in Swedish)

• bittre