a harsh, acrid taste that is one of the four basic taste sensations; a taste that is not sour, sweet, or salty:The beer’s initial flavor profile is a faint bitterness, with a lingering, slightly cloying sweetness.
a feeling of pain or distress: The bitter herbs at a Passover Seder are meant to remind us of the bitterness of slavery.
a feeling of antagonism, hostility, or resentfulness: There was no shortage of people expressing frustration and bitterness about the slow pace of the relief efforts.
Origin of bitterness
bitter + -ness
OTHER WORDS FROM bitterness
o·ver·bit·ter·ness,noun
Words nearby bitterness
bitter lake, Bitter Lakes, bitterling, bitter melon, bittern, bitterness, bitternut, bitter orange, bitter pill, bitter pill to swallow, bitter principle
Her recent analysis already shows that caffeine, theobromine and epicatechin, which all produce a bitter flavor, can help set apart one country’s chocolates from another’s.
How does a crop’s environment shape a food’s smell and taste?|Carolyn Beans|September 10, 2020|Science News
Tandoori-marinated fish and chips, avocado fried rice, and cocktails spiked with ingredients like cardamom bitters and lemongrass liqueurs keep things familiar but still adventurous.
Pre-pandemic, Kuala Lumpur’s hospitality scene was heating up with new design-forward boutique hotels|Rachel King|September 5, 2020|Fortune
At London’s American Bar at The Savoy, a housemade salted chestnut liqueur is the star of the Radio Hurricane cocktail, which also contains bourbon, Pedro Ximénez sherry, dry vermouth, toasted oak bitters, and lime.
Why you should be adding salt to your cocktails|By Céline Bossart/Saveur|September 4, 2020|Popular Science
That’s right, the bitter rival of his hometown University of Texas.
When Baker Mayfield Was a Walk-On|Nick Fouriezos|August 14, 2020|Ozy
So the scientists monitored the brain to see if it received bitter, sweet or umami signals when mice lacked a key protein needed for these broadly tasting cells to relay information.
Newly discovered cells in mice can sense four of the five tastes|Carolyn Wilke|August 13, 2020|Science News
But while his departure was “inexpressibly painful,” he never succumbed to bitterness.
The Catholic Philosopher Who Took on Hitler|John Henry Crosby|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps some of that solitude and bitterness found its way into Alec Leamas.
The Stacks: How The Berlin Wall Inspired John le Carré’s First Masterpiece|John le Carré|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A U.S. diplomat once spoke with bitterness of the breadth of his power when negotiating with an uncooperative dictator.
This Is Obama’s U.N. Plan to Choke Off ISIS’s Recruits|Kimberly Dozier|September 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
KIEV, Ukraine — The symbol of the Ukrainian revolution, the Maidan Square, is seething with bitterness and aggression these days.
Kiev Set to Clean the Last “Occupy” Protestors Out of Maidan Square|Anna Nemtsova|August 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Some day, the armies of bitterness will all be going the same way,” he wrote in Grapes.
Is There a Ma Joad for the Piketty Era?|Katie Baker|July 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The English merchants and mariners had wrongs of their own, perpetually renewed, which fed the bitterness of their indignation.
English Seamen in the Sixteenth Century|James Anthony Froude
Then he saw that she was crying in the bitterness of vexation, and swung round on his music-stool without getting up.
The Nebuly Coat|John Meade Falkner
Miriam spoke unguardedly, but Evie was too preoccupied to notice the bitterness of the tone.
The Wild Olive|Basil King
There was a dash of bitterness in this, which was a rare ingredient in Mara's conversation.
The Pearl of Orr's Island|Harriet Beecher Stowe
The war was resumed with increase of bitterness in feeling, and of fury in action.
Their Majesties' Servants (Volume 3 of 3)|John Doran