1. Marked by strong resentment or cynicism
   "bitter about the divorce";
   - acrimonious
    
2. Harsh or corrosive in tone
   "bitter words";
   - acerb, acerbic, acid, acrid, blistering, caustic, sulfurous [N. Amer], sulphurous [Brit, Cdn], virulent, vitriolic, acidulous
    
3. Very difficult to accept or bear
   "the bitter truth"; "a bitter sorrow"
    
4. Causing a sharp and acrid taste experience
   "quinine is bitter"
    
5. Proceeding from or exhibiting great hostility or animosity
   "a bitter struggle"; "bitter enemies"
    
6. Expressive of severe grief or regret
   "shed bitter tears"
    
7. Causing a sharply painful or stinging sensation; used especially of cold
   "bitter cold";
   - biting

1. The property of having a harsh unpleasant taste
   "The bitter of the medicine lingered on his tongue";
   - bitterness
    
2. The taste experience when quinine or coffee is taken into the mouth
   "He enjoyed the bitter flavour of his espresso";
   - bitterness
    
3. [Brit] A dry sharp-tasting beer with a strong flavour of hops
   "He ordered a pint of bitter at the English pub"

1. Make bitter
   "The experience bittered his outlook on life"

Derived forms: bittered, bitterest, bitters, bittering, bitterer

See also: hostile, intolerable, painful, resentful, sorrowful, tasty, unbearable, unendurable, unpleasant

Type of: ale, change taste, gustatory perception, gustatory sensation, taste, taste perception, taste property, taste sensation

Encyclopedia: Bitter, Gary