as in sorrowfully
with feelings of bitterness or grief
cried bitterly after her grandmother died
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Recent Examples of bitterly
After Adele and her mother had fought, bitterly, about her decision to keep the baby, and then more bitterly about her refusal to find Jamie in Florida and demand child support, Bromley invited her to live with him while things cooled down at home.
—
Jonathan Franzen, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
During the Nullification Crisis of 1831–1833, partisan journalists had a major role in framing the issue and were bitterly opposed to one another, especially in South Carolina.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 May 2026
On February 20, 1933, a bitterly cold winter day, President Hoover had laid the cornerstone of the new archives.
—Literary Hub, 13 May 2026
Players and owners fought bitterly about how many games should be played during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, settling on 60 games.
—Evan Drellich, New York Times, 12 May 2026
But Starmer has been reluctant to reopen a debate that bitterly divided the country.
—Jill Lawless, Fortune, 11 May 2026
Several thousand navvies worked on the railway, living in makeshift camps, and many died in accidents, or from exposure and disease in the bitterly cold winters.
—The Week Uk, TheWeek, 3 May 2026
Advertisement The election was among the most bitterly contested in history, with no clear winner and both parties claiming victory.
—Fergus M. Bordewich, Time, 30 Apr. 2026
The seconds that followed our spill into Missinaibi’s bitterly cold waters were confused.
—Jim Hoagland, Outdoor Life, 30 Apr. 2026
Jonathan Franzen, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
During the Nullification Crisis of 1831–1833, partisan journalists had a major role in framing the issue and were bitterly opposed to one another, especially in South Carolina.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 May 2026
On February 20, 1933, a bitterly cold winter day, President Hoover had laid the cornerstone of the new archives.
—Literary Hub, 13 May 2026
Players and owners fought bitterly about how many games should be played during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, settling on 60 games.
—Evan Drellich, New York Times, 12 May 2026
But Starmer has been reluctant to reopen a debate that bitterly divided the country.
—Jill Lawless, Fortune, 11 May 2026
Several thousand navvies worked on the railway, living in makeshift camps, and many died in accidents, or from exposure and disease in the bitterly cold winters.
—The Week Uk, TheWeek, 3 May 2026
Advertisement The election was among the most bitterly contested in history, with no clear winner and both parties claiming victory.
—Fergus M. Bordewich, Time, 30 Apr. 2026
The seconds that followed our spill into Missinaibi’s bitterly cold waters were confused.
—Jim Hoagland, Outdoor Life, 30 Apr. 2026
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
-
Those faithful are making SpaceX not just the largest and most widely-lauded IPO ever, but sadly, far-and-away the most expensive.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
6 June 2026
-
As a fashion writer with expensive taste and a budget that (sadly) doesn’t always agree, TJ Maxx’s Runway section has become my go-to source for scoring designer finds at prices that feel too good to be true.—
Julia Morlino,
Travel + Leisure,
6 June 2026
Adverb
-
Things are getting hot in Kayce's love life, even after the widower mournfully visits the East Camp memorial to his beloved wife, Monica Dutton (Kelsey Asbille).—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
25 May 2026
-
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
Adverb
-
The novel painfully exposes the ruthless mistreatment and exploitation of both racehorses and humans in this era and tracks the ripples of that trauma through time.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
9 June 2026
-
Audiences fell in love with Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt’s pitch-perfect chemistry as Paul and Jamie Buchman, a married couple whose everyday misadventures felt hilariously — sometimes painfully — relatable.—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 June 2026
Adverb
-
Many cities and school districts are trying hard to line up job opportunities for young people.—
Dianna Douglas,
NPR,
6 June 2026
-
With his gregarious nature and hard-drinking demeanor, Lobo is an intimidating extraterrestrial mercenary and bounty hunter, but his origin story is brutal, even by those standards.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bitterly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bitterly. Accessed 9 Jun. 2026.
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