bitterly
bit·ter·ly/ˈbɪtəɹli/adverb
bitterly is spelled B-I-T-T-E-R-L-Y: 8 letters and 3 syllables (bit·ter·ly). It appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adverb, bitterly means “In a bitter manner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in bitterly?
| Letters | 8: B-I-T-T-E-R-L-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: bit·ter·ly |
| In writing | 1.9 times per million words; the 19,825th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is bitterly?
Bitterly appears 1.9 times per million words in written English, the 19,825th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bitterly?
- US /ˈbɪtəɹli/
- UK /ˈbɪtəli/
Bitterly has 3 syllables, split bit·ter·ly in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-bitterly.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of bitterly
- more bitterly comparative
- most bitterly superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bitterly mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In a bitter manner.
- 2
Extremely.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bitterly in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in a bitter manner:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | amèrement |
| German | bitterlich |
| Portuguese | amargamente |
| Spanish | amargamente |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bitterly come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).