Dictionary

bitterness en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈbɪtənəs/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From Middle English bitternesse, biternesse, from Old English biternes (“bitterness; grief”), equivalent to bitter + -ness.

Meanings

1. (countable, uncountable) The quality of having a bitter taste.
2. (countable, uncountable) The quality of feeling bitter; acrimony, resentment; the quality of exhibiting such feelings.
   • She kept her bitterness about her mistreatment for the rest of her life.
   • She suspected that during the summer her father had mentioned Brian’s windfall to Billy and that father and son had then traded snidenesses and bitternesses about the W—— Corporation and bourgeois Robin and leisure-class Brian. 2001, Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections:
   • Speaking of the guest list, though, it is most disappointing to find some of the third tier European princelings unable to hide their bitterness at being NFI. 2011 April 23, Marina Hyde, “Royal wedding: third tier European princeling is bitter at being NFI”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 06 May 2021:
   • It is now time for the opposition to the Annexation of Texas to cease, all further agitation of the waters of bitterness and strife, at least in connexion with this question,–even though it may perhaps be required of us as a necessary condition of the freedom of our institutions, that we must live on for ever in a state of unpausing struggle and excitement upon some subject of party division or other. 1845 July and August, John O’Sullivan, “Annexation”, in United States Magazine and Democratic Review, volume 17, number 1, archived from the original on 04 Jul 2024, page 1:
   • the bitterness of his words
3. (countable, uncountable) The quality of eliciting a bitter, humiliating or harsh feeling.
   • Nothing could assuage the bitterness of their defeat.
4. (countable, uncountable) Harsh cold.
   • The bitterness of the winter caught us all by surprise.

Forms

Antonyms

sweetness

Holonyms

five basic tastes

Hypernyms

flavour

Relateds

bitter

Synonyms

bile (quality of feeling bitter) · gall (quality of feeling bitter) · acerbity · rancor (quality of feeling bitter) · alkalinity · acridity (quality of being bitter in taste) · astringency · acerbicness (quality of being bitter in taste) · resentment (quality of feeling bitter) · acridness (quality of being bitter in taste) · acrimony (quality of feeling bitter) · wormwood · bitterness

Translations (110)

la amāritās (quality of being bitter in taste) · ru го́речь (quality of being bitter in taste) · tsg pait (quality of being bitter in taste) · ru го́речь (quality of feeling bitter) · de Bitternis (quality of being bitter in taste) · eo amarsento (quality of feeling bitter) · ko 쓴맛 (quality of being bitter in taste) · ckb تاڵی (quality of being bitter in taste) · ln bololo (quality of being bitter in taste) · fi kitkeryys (quality of being bitter in taste) · nb bitterhet (quality of being bitter in taste) · uk гірко́та́ (quality of feeling bitter) · el πίκρα (quality of feeling bitter) · got 𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍄𐍂𐌴𐌹 (quality of being bitter in taste) · rup amãreatsã (quality of being bitter in taste) · la fel (quality of feeling bitter) · sc amargura (quality of feeling bitter) · ja 苦味 (quality of being bitter in taste) · pt amargura (quality of feeling bitter) · pl gorzkość (quality of being bitter in taste) · sk horkosť (quality of being bitter in taste) · es amargura (quality of feeling bitter) · ro fiere (quality of feeling bitter) · sv bitterhet (quality of being bitter in taste) · mk горчина (quality of being bitter in taste) · ar مَرَارَة (quality of being bitter in taste) · fr amertume (quality of being bitter in taste) · he מרה (quality of feeling bitter) · gl amargueza (quality of feeling bitter) · it amarezza (quality of feeling bitter) · la amāritiēs (quality of being bitter in taste) · uk гі́ркість (quality of being bitter in taste) · la austēritās (quality of being bitter in taste) · th ความขม (quality of being bitter in taste) · ca amargura (quality of feeling bitter) · de Bitterkeit (quality of being bitter in taste) · gl amargor (quality of feeling bitter) · fi hyytävyys (harsh cold) · eo amareco (quality of feeling bitter) · bg горчивина (quality of being bitter in taste) · tl pait (quality of being bitter in taste) · es amargor (quality of being bitter in taste) · sc rangigùmene (quality of being bitter in taste) · gl amargueza (quality of being bitter in taste) · gl amargor (quality of being bitter in taste) · la amārulentia (quality of being bitter in taste) · pt amargura (quality of being bitter in taste) · eo amareco (quality of being bitter in taste) · ro amăreală (quality of being bitter in taste) · gl amarguranza (quality of feeling bitter) · es amargo (quality of being bitter in taste) · grc πικρία (quality of being bitter in taste) · ca amarguesa (quality of feeling bitter) · rup amãrãciuni (quality of being bitter in taste) · ca amarguesa (quality of being bitter in taste) · nb bitterhet (quality of feeling bitter) · ca amargor (quality of being bitter in taste) · gl amarguranza (quality of being bitter in taste) · ml കയ്പ്പ് (quality of being bitter in taste) · uk гі́ркість (quality of feeling bitter) · fi jäätävyys (harsh cold) · ca amargor (quality of feeling bitter) · tr dargınlık (quality of feeling bitter) · gl amargura (quality of being bitter in taste) · cs hořkost (quality of being bitter in taste) · pdt Bettaniss (quality of being bitter in taste) · bg горчивина (quality of feeling bitter) · fi purevuus (harsh cold) · de Bitterkeit (quality of feeling bitter) · sdn amalgura (quality of feeling bitter) · got 𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍄𐍂𐌴𐌹 (quality of feeling bitter) · sc aragòne (quality of feeling bitter) · ca amargura (quality of being bitter in taste) · pl gorycz (quality of being bitter in taste) · frp amaritúdina (quality of being bitter in taste) · bni bololo (quality of being bitter in taste) · fi napakkuus (harsh cold) · fr amertume (quality of feeling bitter) · tr burukluk (quality of feeling bitter) · tr acılık (quality of being bitter in taste) · fi katkeruus (quality of feeling bitter) · ota آجیلق (quality of being bitter in taste) · gl amargura (quality of feeling bitter) · ro amărăciune (quality of being bitter in taste) · eo amaro (quality of being bitter in taste) · pam pait (quality of being bitter in taste) · es acíbar (quality of feeling bitter) · hu keserűség (quality of being bitter in taste) · grc πικρότης (quality of being bitter in taste) · mk горчина (quality of feeling bitter) · sdc margùra (quality of feeling bitter) · uk гірко́та́ (quality of being bitter in taste) · hu keserűség (quality of feeling bitter) · ko 고미 (quality of being bitter in taste) · ast amargura (quality of being bitter in taste) · ast amargor (quality of being bitter in taste) · grc πικρία (quality of feeling bitter) · te చేదు (quality of being bitter in taste) · la acerbitās (quality of being bitter in taste) · de Bitternis (quality of feeling bitter) · he מרירות (quality of feeling bitter) · la amāritūdō (quality of being bitter in taste) · eo amaro (quality of feeling bitter) · es amargura (quality of being bitter in taste) · ceb kapait (quality of being bitter in taste) · sc amargura (quality of feeling bitter) · el πίκρα (quality of being bitter in taste) · he מרירות (quality of being bitter in taste) · it amarezza (quality of being bitter in taste) · fi tiukkuus (harsh cold)