bitter
45
2.7
- adjective
- /ˈbɪtər/
:
gélido
- The wind on the mountain was bitter, cutting through our jackets as we huddled together.
- bitter cold
- a bitter winter
And so it was like a bitter New England cold winter, horrible cold.
- And so it was like a bitter New England cold winter, horrible cold.
- Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger?
Examples
-
Now, though, there was more than just the bitter cold with which to contend.
Fiction book (1990) -
Yes, if you could see the people lined up outside of Hope House in this bitter cold.
-
Now the world outside is such a cold and bitter place.
-
Well, from this point forward, we experienced ten bitter days.
-
And so it was like a bitter New England cold winter, horrible cold.
-
Outside, after the bitter wind, we settle onto the cold seats of the car.
Fiction book (1990) -
The holy fool, for example, remains in prayer at night, even in the bitter cold.
Academic text (2003) -
That'll be followed by a bitter cold, arctic air mass and high winds.
Fiction book (1993) -
The winters up there are bitter cold, and the Picts are a fierce, proud, brave people.
-
On the prairie, early November sometimes brings a bitter foretaste of winter.
Fiction book (1992)
Synonyms
737
1.0
Making someone feel physical hurt or strong emotional upset
47
3.9
Very strong and unpleasant to the senses, like bright light or bitter taste
1
7.8
A sharp sour or bitter taste that makes your mouth pucker
Gives a sharp, painful feeling on your skin in cold weather
Being slightly sharp and unpleasant in taste or feeling
A strong, slightly sour taste like in aged cheese or salad dressing
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
8
5.5
Keep doing something until it is completely finished, even when it is very hard
Compounds
- Informal
9
5.6
The final, most difficult part of something that you keep doing until it ends
A hickory tree with leaves that have seven or nine small parts and thin shelled nuts that taste very bitter
A type of orange tree that produces small sour fruit and is used for grafting and marmalade
- Specialized
A hickory-like tree that grows in the southern United States with many narrow leaves and bitter nuts
- Specialized
A tree in the eastern United States with leaves of seven or nine small parts and thin, very bitter nuts
- Specialized
A white salt taken by mouth to relieve heartburn and constipation and sometimes given by injection to prevent seizures
- Specialized
A pale mineral containing calcium and magnesium that people use to make ceramics, get magnesium and improve soil
- Specialized
A small shrub with large pink sepals that people use as medicine for fever
An oil from bitter almonds that people use to add an almond smell or taste to food and perfume
- Indian
A type of cassava with bitter roots that contain poison and must be processed before eating
A small wild plant with divided leaves and tiny white, pink or purple flowers often in lawns
How Cold
Surface Forms
Etymology
Bitter (adj, cold) The use of bitter for very cold weather comes from the idea of a cold that 'bites' you, from the same root as bite meaning 'to bite', so a bitter wind feels sharply painful like a bite.