Bitter
Bit·ter
Bitter
n.
- AA turn of the cable which is round the bitts. (Naut.)
Phrases & Compounds
- Bitter end
- that part of a cable which is abaft the bitts, and so within board, when the ship rides at anchor.
Bitter
a.
- Having a peculiar, acrid, biting taste, like that of wormwood or an infusion of hops; as, a bitter medicine; bitter as aloes.
- Causing pain or smart; piercing; painful; sharp; severe; as, a bitter cold day.
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Causing, or fitted to cause, pain or distress to the mind; calamitous; poignant.
It is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God.
-
Characterized by sharpness, severity, or cruelty; harsh; stern; virulent; as, bitter reproach.
Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
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Mournful; sad; distressing; painful; pitiable.
The Egyptians . . . made their lives bitter with hard bondage.
Phrases & Compounds
- Bitter apple
- See Colocynth.
- Bitter cress
- a plant of the genus Cardamine, esp. Cardamine amara.
- Bitter earth
- tale earth; calcined magnesia.
- Bitter principles
- a class of substances, extracted from vegetable products, having strong bitter taste but with no sharply defined chemical characteristics.
- Bitter salt
- Epsom salts; magnesium sulphate.
- Bitter vetch
- a name given to two European leguminous herbs, Vicia Orobus and Ervum Ervilia.
- To the bitter end
- to the last extremity, however calamitous.
Bitter
n.
- Any substance that is bitter. See Bitters.
Bitter
v. t.
- To make bitter.