1
as in angry
having or showing deep-seated resentment
a bitter attitude about always having to work on Saturday she's still bitter about how her family treated her so unfairly
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2
as in painful
hard to accept or bear especially emotionally
discovering that he had been cut from the crew team was a bitter disappointment
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3
as in biting
causing intense discomfort to one's skin
a bitter wind was stinging the faces of the skiers
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4
as in harsh
difficult to endure
a bitter lesson about money and friendship
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5
as in cold
having a low or subnormal temperature
a bitter February day for this part of the country
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6
as in chilly
uncomfortably cool
a bitter, rainy day
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7
as in mournful
expressing or suggesting mourning
a bitter cry of grief
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8
as in unpleasant
not giving pleasure to the mind or senses
had to face the bitter truth about their marriage
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bitter
There’s an entire salad bowl of chocolate mousse, perfectly bitter and rich, and a Paris-Brest the circumference of a tricycle wheel, with enormous puffs of hazelnut mousse and a dripping seam of blackberry jam.
—
Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 14 June 2026
What began as an act of solidarity ultimately took a bitter turn for a National Park Service biologist.
—Jasmine Mendez, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2026
The new configuration set up the 40th as a bitter and expensive primary, with two sitting House members expected to battle for their political survival.
—Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 10 June 2026
Mighty ice breakers moored in their summer slumber are the only reminder of the bitter Baltic winters.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 10 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for bitter
Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 14 June 2026
What began as an act of solidarity ultimately took a bitter turn for a National Park Service biologist.
—Jasmine Mendez, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2026
The new configuration set up the 40th as a bitter and expensive primary, with two sitting House members expected to battle for their political survival.
—Kaitlyn Schallhorn, Oc Register, 10 June 2026
Mighty ice breakers moored in their summer slumber are the only reminder of the bitter Baltic winters.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 10 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for bitter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bitter
Adjective
-
Lee remembers her parents sending her to a friend’s house several blocks away when an angry mob showed up at her family’s home to protest Black residents moving into the Fort Worth neighborhood.—
Tesfaye Negussie,
ABC News,
19 June 2026
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According to the volunteer, Niemann got angry after NOT getting fire ant relief, kicked a white flag, kicked some sand, and then proceeded to launch his iron into the fescue area.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
19 June 2026
Adjective
-
The core characters Each character came into their own during the series, sometimes in emotionally painful ways.—
Pat Saperstein,
Variety,
14 June 2026
-
Hidden inside those numbers is a long and painful history.—
Ryan Lenora Brown,
NPR,
14 June 2026
Adjective
-
So Google isn’t trying to release more biting mosquitoes into neighborhoods.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
12 June 2026
-
Netflix’s big comedy bet might be the Dan Levy–Rachel Sennott co-creation Big Mistakes; the biting, farcical series about adult siblings who get caught up in the drug business plays like Weeds crossed with The Other Two.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
2 May 2026
Adjective
-
Ahead of the holiday, the City of Rancho Cordova is cracking down with much harsher penalties.—
Brady Halbleib,
CBS News,
19 June 2026
-
Members of his party who want even harsher border controls have splintered off to form Restore Britain, which has gained support from Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, who is vociferously backing it on his X platform.—
Alexander Smith,
NBC news,
18 June 2026
Adjective
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The perk here is that the material holds up to cold weather by stretching and expanding without breaking, requiring fewer repairs and resource use.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
17 June 2026
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But there are ways of assessing it with cold hard figures, most notably the FIFA world rankings, which began in the 1990s as a way to assess the strength of international teams.—
Thom Harris,
New York Times,
16 June 2026
Adjective
-
Monochrome Fit Summer weather can be unpredictable, with chilly mornings and blistering hot afternoons.—
Destinee Scott,
Travel + Leisure,
18 June 2026
-
Lopez has stepped out in Paris twice wearing a similar go-to uniform, including a breezy, lightweight outer layer that is ideal for chilly summer nights or rainy afternoons.—
Rachel Trujillo,
PEOPLE,
18 June 2026
Adjective
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The drama can stir up nostalgia and mournful emotions, and feels personal to many.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
3 June 2026
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On the soundtrack, mournful wailing music presents her as a tragic character.—
Murtada Elfadl,
Variety,
2 June 2026
Adjective
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Residents who have discussed the issue online described the smell as one of the most unpleasant aspects of the ongoing seaweed buildup.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
13 June 2026
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The figure-skimming silhouette also prevents the unpleasant feeling of sweating in too-tight clothes.—
Sophie Dodd,
Travel + Leisure,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bitter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bitter. Accessed 20 Jun. 2026.
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