 |
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Bitter \Bit"ter\, noun [See {Bitts}.] (Naut.) AA turn of the cable which is round the bitts.
{Bitter end}, that part of a cable which is abaft the bitts, and so within board, when the ship rides at anchor.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Bitter \Bit"ter\, adjective [AS. biter; akin to Goth. baitrs, Icel. bitr, Dan., Sw., D., & G. bitter, OS. bittar, fr. root of E. bite. See {Bite}, verb (used with an object)]
1. Having a peculiar, acrid, biting taste, like that of wormwood or an infusion of hops; as, a bitter medicine; bitter as aloes.
2. Causing pain or smart; piercing; painful; sharp; severe; as, a bitter cold day.
3. 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. --Jer. ii. 19.
4. Characterized by sharpness, severity, or cruelty; harsh; stern; virulent; as, bitter reproach.
Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them. --Col. iii. 19.
5. Mournful; sad; distressing; painful; pitiable.
The Egyptians . . . made their lives bitter with hard bondage. --Ex. i. 14.
{Bitter apple}, {Bitter cucumber}, {Bitter gourd}. (Bot.) See {Colocynth}.
{Bitter cress} (Bot.), a plant of the genus {Cardamine}, esp. {Cardamine amara}.
{Bitter earth} (Min.), tale earth; calcined magnesia.
{Bitter principles} (Chem.), 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} (Bot.), a name given to two European leguminous herbs, {Vicia Orobus} and {Ervum Ervilia}.
{To the bitter end}, to the last extremity, however calamitous.
Syn: Acrid; sharp; harsh; pungent; stinging; cutting; severe; acrimonious.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Bitter \Bit"ter\, noun Any substance that is bitter. See {Bitters}.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Bitter \Bit"ter\, verb (used with an object) To make bitter. --Wolcott.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
bitter
adjective
1: marked by strong resentment or cynicism; "an acrimonious dispute"; "bitter about the divorce" [syn: {acrimonious}]
2: very difficult to accept or bear; "the bitter truth"; "a bitter sorrow"
3: harsh or corrosive in tone; "an acerbic tone piercing otherwise flowery prose"; "a barrage of acid comments"; "her acrid remarks make her many enemies"; "bitter words"; "blistering criticism"; "caustic jokes about political assassination, talk-show hosts and medical ethics"; "a sulfurous denunciation" [syn: {acerb}, {acerbic}, {acid}, {acrid}, {blistering}, {caustic}, {sulfurous}, {sulphurous}, {venomous}, {virulent}, {vitriolic}]
4: one of the four basic taste sensations; sharp and disagreeable; like the taste of quinine
5: expressive of severe grief or regret; "shed bitter tears"
6: proceeding from or exhibiting great hostility or animosity; "a bitter struggle"; "bitter enemies"
7: causing a sharply painful or stinging sensation; used especially of cold; "bitter cold"; "a biting wind" [syn: {biting}]
noun
1: English term for a dry sharp-tasting ale with strong flavor of hops (usually on draft)
2: the taste experience when quinine or coffee is taken into the mouth [syn: {bitterness}]
3: the property of having a harsh unpleasant taste [syn: {bitterness}]
adverb: extremely and sharply; "it was bitterly cold"; "bitter cold" [syn: {piercingly}, {bitterly}, {bitingly}]
verb: make bitter
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
229 Moby Thesaurus words for "bitter": Siberian, acerb, acerbate, acerbic, acid, acidic, acidulent, acidulous, acrid, acrimonious, affecting, afflictive, aftertaste, algid, alienated, amaroidal, annoying, antagonistic, antipathetic, arctic, asperous, astringent, austere, bad, belligerent, below zero, bilious, biting, bitter as gall, bitterly cold, bleak, boreal, brisk, brumal, brutal, burning, caustic, cheerless, choleric, clashing, coarse, cold, cold as charity, cold as death, cold as ice, cold as marble, colliding, comfortless, conflicting, corroding, corrosive, crisp, cruel, cutting, deplorable, depressing, depressive, despiteful, disagreeable, discomforting, dislikable, dismal, dismaying, dispiriting, displeasing, distasteful, distressful, distressing, disturbing, divided, dolorific, dolorogenic, dolorous, double-edged, dreary, dyspeptic, edged, embittered, escharotic, estranged, fierce, flavor, freezing, freezing cold, frigid, full of hate, galling, gelid, glacial, grievous, gust, hard, harsh, hateful, hibernal, hiemal, hostile, hyperborean, ice-cold, ice-encrusted, icelike, icy, incisive, inclement, intemperate, irreconcilable, irritating, jaundiced, joyless, keen, lamentable, malevolent, malicious, malignant, miserable, mordacious, mordant, mournful, moving, nasty, nipping, nippy, nose-tickling, numbing, obnoxious, offensive, painful, palate, pathetic, penetrating, piercing, pinching, piquant, piteous, pitiable, poignant, provoking, pungent, quarrelsome, rancorous, rankled, raw, regrettable, relish, reproachful, repugnant, resentful, resenting, rigorous, rough, rueful, rugged, sad, saddening, salt, sapidity, sapor, savor, savoriness, scathing, scorching, set against, severe, sharp, sleety, slushy, smack, snappy, sore, sorrowful, sour, sour-tempered, soured, spiteful, splenetic, stabbing, stewing, stinging, stomach, stone-cold, strident, stringent, subzero, supercooled, sweet, tang, tart, taste, thankless, tongue, tooth, touching, trenchant, ugly, unalluring, unappealing, unappetizing, unattractive, uncomfortable, undelectable, undelicious, undesirable, unengaging, unenjoyable, uninviting, unkind, unlikable, unpalatable, unpleasant, unpleasing, unsavory, untasteful, unwelcome, vehement, venomous, vexatious, vicious, vinegarish, violent, virulent, vitriolic, winterbound, winterlike, wintery, wintry, withering, woebegone, woeful, wretched
From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]:
Bitter Bitterness is symbolical of affliction, misery, and servitude (Ex. 1:14; Ruth 1:20; Jer. 9:15). The Chaldeans are called the "bitter and hasty nation" (Hab. 1:6). The "gall of bitterness" expresses a state of great wickedness (Acts 8:23). A "root of bitterness" is a wicked person or a dangerous sin (Heb. 12:15). The Passover was to be eaten with "bitter herbs" (Ex. 12:8; Num. 9:11). The kind of herbs so designated is not known. Probably they were any bitter herbs obtainable at the place and time when the Passover was celebrated. They represented the severity of the servitude under which the people groaned; and have been regarded also as typical of the sufferings of Christ.
 |
Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |