MEANING
To make someone bitter or resentful through disappointment or hurt.
Use it for
Words that belong together
- embitter a person
- embittered by experience
On the page
Years of exclusion embittered him.
Word forms
- Base
- embitter
- Past tense
- embittered
- Past participle
- embittered
- Present participle
- embittering
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- embitter
- Present continuous
- am/is/are embittering
- Present perfect
- have/has embittered
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been embittering
- Past
- embittered
- Past continuous
- was/were embittering
- Past perfect
- had embittered
- Past perfect continuous
- had been embittering
- Future
- will embitter
- Future continuous
- will be embittering
- Future perfect
- will have embittered
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been embittering
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Primary category: literary / elevated general. Forms: embitter; embitters; embittered; embittered; embittering Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings. Established modern English lexical item. No separate regional spelling or grammatical inflection entry. Writing functions: description, character, dialogue. Commonness: moderately common. Third-person singular: embitters.
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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