as in sorrowfully
with feelings of bitterness or grief
cried bitterly after her grandmother died
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Recent Examples of bitterly
Its inhabitants were left without light or heat during a bitterly cold polar vortex, with temperatures as low as 2 degrees Fahrenheit.
—
Rachel Treisman, NPR, 5 Jan. 2026
Hasina was bitterly criticized by both her opponents and independent critics for sending Zia to jail.
—CNN Money, 30 Dec. 2025
Combined with wind chills, temperatures will remain well below freezing, making outdoor celebrations — from fireworks to bonfires — bitterly cold.
—Brandi D. Addison, Freep.com, 29 Dec. 2025
There is something so poignant about the scenes of Richard as a young boy in Whittier, cowed by his bitterly angry father and desperate to please his intensely religious mother, who is played with cold grace by Mary Steenburgen.
—Tim Greiving, HollywoodReporter, 20 Dec. 2025
After a weekend of brutal winter weather, the region will get a break from the snow and 'bitterly cold' temperatures for now, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service in Louisville.
—Caroline Neal, Louisville Courier Journal, 15 Dec. 2025
Saturday's bitterly cold temperatures did not keep people from holiday shopping or taking in the city's festivities.
—Marissa Sulek, CBS News, 14 Dec. 2025
Wisconsin will experience a nearly 60-degree swing in feels-like temperatures between Sunday morning and Tuesday as bitterly cold air moves out.
—Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 14 Dec. 2025
Officials warn of bitterly cold temperatures and wind chills as low as 6 below zero from Saturday evening into Monday.
—Matthew Cupelli, Cincinnati Enquirer, 12 Dec. 2025
Rachel Treisman, NPR, 5 Jan. 2026
Hasina was bitterly criticized by both her opponents and independent critics for sending Zia to jail.
—CNN Money, 30 Dec. 2025
Combined with wind chills, temperatures will remain well below freezing, making outdoor celebrations — from fireworks to bonfires — bitterly cold.
—Brandi D. Addison, Freep.com, 29 Dec. 2025
There is something so poignant about the scenes of Richard as a young boy in Whittier, cowed by his bitterly angry father and desperate to please his intensely religious mother, who is played with cold grace by Mary Steenburgen.
—Tim Greiving, HollywoodReporter, 20 Dec. 2025
After a weekend of brutal winter weather, the region will get a break from the snow and 'bitterly cold' temperatures for now, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service in Louisville.
—Caroline Neal, Louisville Courier Journal, 15 Dec. 2025
Saturday's bitterly cold temperatures did not keep people from holiday shopping or taking in the city's festivities.
—Marissa Sulek, CBS News, 14 Dec. 2025
Wisconsin will experience a nearly 60-degree swing in feels-like temperatures between Sunday morning and Tuesday as bitterly cold air moves out.
—Hope Karnopp, jsonline.com, 14 Dec. 2025
Officials warn of bitterly cold temperatures and wind chills as low as 6 below zero from Saturday evening into Monday.
—Matthew Cupelli, Cincinnati Enquirer, 12 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bitterly
Adverb
-
Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.—
Madhuri Vijay,
New Yorker,
16 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
This should be, but sadly will probably not be, the line that shouldn’t have been crossed.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Discovering the chemicals responsible for smoke taint is, sadly, only half the battle.—
Nicola Twilley,
New Yorker,
5 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
For their part, Democratic leaders spoke mournfully of limits, of energy shortages, of national decline, of a crisis of confidence itself.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
-
Based on the Dylan Thomas prose poem of the same name, published in 1952, the film lovingly and mournfully depicts the boyhood Christmastime of an old Welshman, tenderly and a tad mischievously embodied by Elliott.—
Sheldon Pearce,
New Yorker,
21 Nov. 2025
Adverb
-
Inspired by a 2017 Los Angeles Time article about a San Gabriel Valley tragedy, director Eric Lin’s heartbreaking feature painfully reminds us of the need to get help and how mental health issues within Asian cultures need to be destigmatized.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
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By Sunday, he was gone, a mercifully swift ending to painfully slow decline.—
Scott Maxwell,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Alexandria has been really hard hit, down 50% in that period.—
Jason Gewirtz,
CNBC,
6 Jan. 2026
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For instance, walking most days is far better than exercising hard once a month.—
Katia Hetter,
CNN Money,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bitterly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bitterly. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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