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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

bitterly en · ADV

Pronunciation

  • /ˈbɪtəli/ (Received-Pronunciation)
  • /ˈbɪtəɹli/ (General-American)
  • (US) audio

Etymology

From Middle English bitterli, biterli, biterliche, from Old English biterlīċe, bitterlīċe (“bitterly”), equivalent to bitter + -ly. Cognate with German Low German bitterlik (“bitterly”), German bitterlich (“bitterly”), Swedish bitterligen (“bitterly”).

Meanings

  1. In a bitter manner.
    • Heidi threw herself down beside Clara's chair and began to cry bitterly. 1956 [1880], Johanna Spyri, Heidi, translation of original by Eileen Hall, page 91:
    • Judge Short had gone to town, and Farrar was off for a three days' cruise up the lake. I was bitterly regretting I had not gone with him when the distant notes of a coach horn reached my ear, and I descried a four-in-hand winding its way up the inn road from the direction of Mohair. 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
    • Liverpool's £58m strikeforce of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez scored the goals that settled the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park - but Everton were left complaining bitterly about Jack Rodwell's controversial early red card. 2011 October 1, Phil McNulty, “Everton 0-2 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport:
  2. Extremely.
    • On a bitterly cold evening at Wembley, the Lionesses knew only victory would be enough to keep alive Team GB's hopes of competing in Paris. 2023 December 1, Emma Sanders, “England 3-2 Netherlands”, in BBC Sport:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
most bitterly Degree=Sup lexicographic
more bitterly Degree=Cmp lexicographic

Translations (14)

hu epésen (in a bitter manner) · es amargamente (in a bitter manner) · fr amèrement (in a bitter manner) · ru го́рько (in a bitter manner) · de bitterlich (in a bitter manner) · ca amargament (in a bitter manner) · cs hořce (in a bitter manner) · fi katkerasti (in a bitter manner) · gl amargamente (in a bitter manner) · got 𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍄𐍂𐌰𐌱𐌰 (in a bitter manner) · eo amare (in a bitter manner) · nrf améthement (in a bitter manner) · pt amargamente (in a bitter manner) · pdt bettalich (in a bitter manner)