# bitterness

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈbɪtənəs/ · frequency rank #15,967

## Definitions
1. The quality of having a bitter taste.
2. The quality of feeling bitter; acrimony, resentment; the quality of exhibiting such feelings.
3. The quality of eliciting a bitter, humiliating or harsh feeling.
4. Harsh cold.

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

## Common misspellings (12)
`bbitterness`, `biterness`, `bitetrness`, `bittenress`, `bitterenss`, `bitternes`, `bitternness`, `bitternses`, `bitterrness`, `bittreness`, `btiterness`, `ibtterness`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/bitterness