pill
52
7.9
- noun
- /pɪl/
- Informal
:
trago amargo
- Losing the championship was a bitter pill to endure for the entire team.
- a bitter pill
- a pill to swallow
Examples
-
This is, I know that is a tough pill to swallow.
-
And not by kvetching, but by taking a reality pill and a look around.
Blog text (13) -
And like, that is kind of, yeah, tough pill to swallow.
-
A diverse future is not a bitter pill to swallow, but an adventure.
Blog text (5) -
Imagine that, for some, that is just a tough pill to swallow, isn't it?
Blog text (2) -
Let me tell you, that wasn't an easy pill for them to swallow.
Blog text (3) -
Intrusive outside meddling often smacks of colonialism and is thus a bitter pill for African nationalists to swallow.
Academic text (2005) -
Accepting the fact that my proposal was rejected was a tough pill to swallow.
-
Hearing that she wouldn't get the promotion was a hard pill for her to accept.
Synonyms
2
6.8
An unpleasant fact or event that is hard to accept
A very hard thing to accept or deal with
Antonyms
Idioms
- Informal
1
6.2
Make an unpleasant thing seem easier to accept by adding something pleasant
Compounds
- Specialized
33
2.7
A small medicine tablet with hormones a woman takes to prevent pregnancy
- Jargon
3
7.9
To make it hard for another company to take control by making the company's shares less attractive
- Specialized
1
3.4
A medicine that makes you pass more urine to remove extra water from your body
- Specialized
1
3.7
A pill taken by mouth that prevents a woman from becoming pregnant
- Jargon
A planned action by a company to make itself less attractive to a buyer even if it harms the company
How Hard
128
3.4
137
4.8
- Informal
52
7.9
651
2.4
107
4.3
62
3.6
Surface Forms
Etymology
A helpful way to remember pill meaning 'an unpleasant fact' is to think of a 'bitter pill' you must swallow; this meaning grew from the medicine image and now means something hard to accept.