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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
How could that happen in Germany, a country whose history has taught a bitter lesson about the dangers of right-wing extremism?
—
Amanda Taub, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2025
In the time that Smith was at Utah, the school’s bitter rival, BYU, also rose to national acclaim in the sport.
—The Athletic College Basketball Staff, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
After a bitter falling out with his former fellow Crips, Moses and the other Pirus — who first called themselves the Piru Street Boys — joined with several other area street crews into what would become known as the Bloods.
—Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2025
This summer saw a bitter dispute between the U.S. and China over allegations surrounding doping by Chinese swimmers before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and suggestions from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that WADA had not been strong enough in enforcing its rules.
—Charlie Eccleshare, The Athletic, 15 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bitter
Amanda Taub, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2025
In the time that Smith was at Utah, the school’s bitter rival, BYU, also rose to national acclaim in the sport.
—The Athletic College Basketball Staff, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
After a bitter falling out with his former fellow Crips, Moses and the other Pirus — who first called themselves the Piru Street Boys — joined with several other area street crews into what would become known as the Bloods.
—Libor Jany, Los Angeles Times, 22 Feb. 2025
This summer saw a bitter dispute between the U.S. and China over allegations surrounding doping by Chinese swimmers before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics and suggestions from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) that WADA had not been strong enough in enforcing its rules.
—Charlie Eccleshare, The Athletic, 15 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for bitter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bitter
Adjective
-
During eight tumultuous days in 1988 at the world’s only Deaf university, four students must find a way to lead an angry mob to change the course of history.—
Anthony D'Alessandro,
Deadline,
11 Mar. 2025
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Accept Your Child's Anger When your child has an angry outburst, acknowledge it.—
Miriam Foley,
Parents,
11 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Whether a client hires a single architect to design a house or a team to work on a downtown plan with multiple community stakeholders, the architect-client relationship is rarely one of a painful struggle.—
Matt Shaw,
Forbes,
28 Feb. 2025
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Throughout her childhood, Dee Dee subjected her Gypsy-Rose to years of painful medical procedures that were not needed.—
Angel Saunders,
People.com,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
On a recent Saturday afternoon, several thousand people gathered in Union Square, in the biting cold, for a rally in support of trans youth.—
Emily Witt,
The New Yorker,
19 Feb. 2025
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Now, 72 hours after being purged because they were considered probationary workers, a biting reality has set in for many of them.—
CNN.com Wire Service,
The Mercury News,
19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Unlike Western cleansers, which often rely on harsh surfactants or astringent ingredients, Korean ones maintain the skin’s moisture barrier and natural pH balance, says Cho.—
Denise Primbet,
Glamour,
28 Feb. 2025
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Her lyric vocal writing contends with harsh reality, but her style is never far from profound rapture.—
Mark Swed,
Los Angeles Times,
28 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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South of the Arctic’s polar vortex is the jet stream, a river of west to east air that flows five to nine miles above ground, and helps keep the pole’s cold air confined to the Arctic.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
TIME,
6 Mar. 2025
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But as the lingerie giant negotiates around a more cautious consumer, colder weather and tariff uncertainty out of the Trump White House, Hillary Super’s longer-term plans are coming into focus.—
Evan Clark,
WWD,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Pascal Plante’s chilly Quebecois techno-thriller isn’t about content moderation per se, but its descent-into-hell structure is — intentionally or not — mimicked here.—
Katie Rife,
IndieWire,
9 Mar. 2025
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The hotel’s in-house Palace Sports & Rentals features a ski room with heated lockers, a convenient way to start and end a chilly day.—
Alexandra Cheney,
Travel + Leisure,
9 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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In the mournful mid-section, keyboardist Rick Wakeman channels Bach on the pipe organ, recorded at a London church.—
Ernesto Lechner,
Rolling Stone,
6 Mar. 2025
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Prospective Xbox players can hear the final version of the haunting, mournful Atlamaha-ha piece in EW’s exclusive reveal of a live-action music video shot for South of Midnight.—
Nick Romano,
EW.com,
6 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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That leads to the second point: automating boring tasks, or delegating unpleasant things to the AI itself.—
John Werner,
Forbes,
9 Mar. 2025
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Seed oils are typically made by pressing or crushing the seeds and then processing them further with chemicals and heat to remove elements that can leave the oil cloudy or with an unpleasant taste or odor.—
Jonel Aleccia,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Mar. 2025
Articles Related to bitter
Cite this Entry
“Bitter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bitter. Accessed 14 Mar. 2025.
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