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Added 9 October 2026

bitter

/ˈbɪt.ə/ adjective

In Latin: amārus Wiktionary

adjective Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about bitter at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Having an acrid taste (usually from a basic substance).
The coffee tasted bitter.
Harsh, piercing, acerbic or stinging.
Hateful or hostile.
They're bitter enemies.

adverb

To an intense or severe degree; bitterly.

noun

A liquid or powder, made from bitter herbs, used in mixed drinks or as a tonic.
A type of beer heavily flavored with hops.
A turn of a cable about the bitts.

verb

To make bitter.

Origin

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”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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