Lexic.us

Definition of Bittersweet

1. Noun. Poisonous perennial Old World vine having violet flowers and oval coral-red berries; widespread weed in North America.

2. Adjective. Tinged with sadness. "A movie with a bittersweet ending"

3. Noun. Twining shrub of North America having yellow capsules enclosing scarlet seeds.

4. Adjective. Having a taste that is a mixture of bitterness and sweetness.

Definition of Bittersweet

1. a. Sweet and then bitter or bitter and then sweet; esp. sweet with a bitter after taste; hence (Fig.), pleasant but painful.

2. n. Anything which is bittersweet.

Definition of Bittersweet

1. Adjective. both bitter and sweet ¹

2. Adjective. expressing contrasting emotions of pain and pleasure ¹

3. Noun. a vine, of the genus ''Celastrus'', having small orange fruits that open to reveal red seeds ¹

4. Noun. the bittersweet nightshade, ''Solanum dulcamara'' ¹

5. Noun. A variety of apple with a bittersweet taste. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Bittersweet

1. [n -S]

Medical Definition of Bittersweet

1. 1. Anything which is bittersweet. 2. A kind of apple so called. 3. A climbing shrub, with oval coral-red berries (Solanum dulcamara); woody nightshade. The whole plant is poisonous, and has a taste at first sweetish and then bitter. The branches are the officinal dulcamara. An American woody climber (Celastrus scandens), whose yellow capsules open late in autumn, and disclose the red aril which covers the seeds; also called Roxbury waxwork. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Lexicographical Neighbors of Bittersweet

bitterings bitterish bitterling bitterlings bitterly bittern bitterness bitternesses bitterns bitternut

bitternut hickory bitternuts bitterroot bitterroots bitters bittersweet (current term) bittersweet chocolate bittersweet nightshade bittersweetly bittersweetness

bittersweets bitterweed bitterweeds bitterwood bitterwood tree bitterwoods bitterwort bitterworts bitthead bittie

Literary usage of Bittersweet

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. A Universal formulary: Containing the Methods of Preparing and Administering by Robert Eglesfeld Griffith (1866)
"B. bittersweet, bruised, one ounce. Water, one pint and a half. Boil down to a pint, ... Crude antimony, Powder of bittersweet, each, half an ounce. ..."

2. Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern by Edward Cornelius Towne (1897)
"... their accurate depiction of the homely and picturesque in New England life, found many lovers. Several of the short lyrics, with i bittersweet' (1858), ..."

3. Materia Medica: For the Use of Students by John Barclay Biddle (1874)
"DULCAMARA — bittersweet. The YOUNG BRANCHES of Solanum Dulcamara, ... In small doses, the most obvious effects of bittersweet are an increase in the ..."

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