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. C. 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.
BITTER
Bit"ter, n.
Defn: Any substance that is bitter. See Bitters.
BITTER
Bit"ter, v. t.
Defn: To make bitter. Wolcott.
BITTERBUMP
Bit"ter*bump`, n. (Zoöl.)
Defn: the butterbump or bittern.