bitterness

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈbɪtənəs/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

bitterness (countable and uncountable, plural bitternesses)

1. The quality of having a bitter taste.
2. 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.

   the bitterness of his words

   • 2001, Jonathan Franzen, The Corrections:

     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.

3. The quality of eliciting a bitter, humiliating or harsh feeling.

   Nothing could assuage the bitterness of their defeat.

4. Harsh cold.

   The bitterness of the winter caught us all by surprise.

Synonyms

• (quality of being bitter in taste): acerbicness, acridity, acridness
• (quality of feeling bitter): acrimony, gall, rancor/rancour, resentment

Translations

quality of being bitter in taste

• Arabic: مَرَارَة f (marāra)
• Aromanian: amãrãciuni f, amãreatsã f
• Asturian: amargor (ast) m, amargura (ast) f
• Bulgarian: горчивина (bg) f (gorčivina)
• Catalan: amargor (ca) f, amargura f, amarguesa f
• Cebuano: kapait
• Esperanto: amareco, amaro (eo)
• Finnish: kitkeryys (fi)
• Franco-Provençal: amaritúdina f
• French: amertume (fr) f
• Galician: amargor (gl) m, amargura (gl) f, amargueza f, amarguranza f
• German: Bitterkeit (de) f, Bitternis (de) f
• Gothic: 𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍄𐍂𐌴𐌹 f (baitrei)
• Greek: πίκρα (el) f (píkra)

  Ancient: πικρία f (pikría), πικρότης f (pikrótēs)

• Hebrew: מרירות f (merirut)
• Hungarian: keserűség (hu)
• Italian: amarezza (it) f
• Kapampangan: pait
• Korean: 쓴맛 (ko) (sseunmat), 고미 (gomi)
• Latin: acerbitās f, amāritās f, amāritiēs f, amāritūdō (la) f, amārulentia f, austēritās f
• Macedonian: горчина f (gorčina)
• Malayalam: കയ്പ്പ് (kayppŭ)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bitterhet (no) m or f

• Ottoman Turkish: آجیلق (acılık)
• Plautdietsch: Bettaniss f
• Polish: gorzkość (pl) f, gorycz (pl) f
• Portuguese: amargura (pt) f
• Romanian: amărăciune (ro) f, amăreală (ro) f
• Russian: го́речь (ru) f (górečʹ)
• Sardinian:

  Logudorese: rangigùmene

• Slovak: horkosť f
• Spanish: amargo (es) m, amargura (es) f, amargor (es) m
• Swedish: bitterhet (sv) c
• Tagalog: pait (tl)
• Tausug: pait
• Telugu: చేదు (te) (cēdu)
• Thai: ความขม (th) (kwaam-kǒm)
• Turkish: acılık (tr)
• Ukrainian: гірко́та́ f (hirkótá), гі́ркість f (hírkistʹ)

quality of feeling bitter

• Bulgarian: горчивина (bg) (gorčivina)
• Catalan: amargor (ca) f, amargura f, amarguesa f
• Esperanto: amareco, amaro (eo), amarsento
• Finnish: katkeruus (fi)
• French: amertume (fr) f
• Galician: amargor (gl) m, amargura (gl) f, amargueza f, amarguranza f
• Gallurese: amalgura
• German: Bitterkeit (de) f, Bitternis (de)
• Gothic: 𐌱𐌰𐌹𐍄𐍂𐌴𐌹 (baitrei)
• Greek: πίκρα (el) f (píkra)

  Ancient: πικρία f (pikría)

• Hebrew: מרירות f (merirut), מרה (he) f (marah)
• Hungarian: keserűség (hu)
• Italian: amarezza (it) f
• Korean: 쓴맛 (ko) (sseunmat), 고미 (gomi)
• Latin: fel
• Macedonian: горчина f (gorčina)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: bitterhet (no) m or f

• Portuguese: amargura (pt) f
• Romanian: fiere (ro)
• Russian: го́речь (ru) f (górečʹ)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: amargura

  Logudorese: amargura, aragòne

• Sassarese: margùra
• Spanish: amargura (es) f, acíbar (es)
• Ukrainian: гірко́та́ f (hirkótá), гі́ркість f (hírkistʹ)

harsh cold

• Finnish: hyytävyys, jäätävyys, napakkuus, purevuus (fi), tiukkuus (fi)