bitterly

bit·ter·ly
B3I1T1T1E1R1L1Y4
US/ˈbɪtəɹli/UK/ˈbɪtəli/

adverb

In a bitter manner.

Less commonScrabble 13

Meanings

adverbbitterly (comparative more bitterly, superlative most bitterly)

comparative more bitterly · superlative most bitterly

  1. In a bitter manner.

    Heidi threw herself down beside Clara's chair and began to cry bitterly.

    1956 [1880], Johanna Spyri, Heidi, translation of original by Eileen Hall, page 91
    2 more examples

    Judge Short had gone to town, and Farrar was off for a three days' cruise up the lake. I was bitterly regretting I had not gone with him when the distant notes of a coach horn reached my ear, and I descried a four-in-hand winding its way up the inn road from the direction of Mohair.

    1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC

    Liverpool's £58m strikeforce of Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez scored the goals that settled the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park - but Everton were left complaining bitterly about Jack Rodwell's controversial early red card.

    2011 October 1, Phil McNulty, “Everton 0-2 Liverpool”, in BBC Sport
  2. Extremely.

    On a bitterly cold evening at Wembley, the Lionesses knew only victory would be enough to keep alive Team GB's hopes of competing in Paris.

    2023 December 1, Emma Sanders, “England 3-2 Netherlands”, in BBC Sport

Synonyms & antonyms

adverbextremely and sharply

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Englishbiterlīċe
  2. Middle Englishbitterli
  3. Englishbitterly

From Middle English bitterli, biterli, biterliche, from Old English biterlīċe, bitterlīċe (“bitterly”), equivalent to bitter + -ly. Cognate with German Low German bitterlik (“bitterly”), German bitterlich (“bitterly”), Swedish bitterligen (“bitterly”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan amargament
  • amargamentin a bitter manner
Czech hořce
  • hořcein a bitter manner
Esperanto amare
  • amarein a bitter manner
Finnish katkerasti
  • katkerastiin a bitter manner
French amèrement
  • amèrementin a bitter manner
German bitterlich
  • bitterlichin a bitter manner
Hungarian epésen
  • epésenin a bitter manner
Portuguese amargamente
  • amargamentein a bitter manner
Russian го́рько
  • го́рько (górʹko)in a bitter manner
Spanish amargamente
  • amargamentein a bitter manner
Cite this entry
APA

bitterly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bitterly

MLA

“bitterly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bitterly. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bitterly,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bitterly.

Source: bitterly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.