embitter

as in to anger
to implant bitter feelings in the family refused to let their devastating collision with a drunk driver permanently embitter them

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of embitter Beginning in the wake of Toby Fleishman’s divorce, the series appears at first to be very uncomplicated, with the angry, embittered Toby (Jesse Eisenberg) rebounding his way through New York City while ranting about his workaholic ex-wife, Rachel (Claire Danes). Lindsay Kusiak, The Hollywood Reporter, 13 June 2023 But with Republicans gaining control of the House and governor’s mansion the following year, that effort has since gone nowhere — embittering some unions against those who blocked it. Antonio Olivo, Washington Post, 9 June 2023 Most aficionados agree that Monopoly, if not a bad game, is at the very least designed to embitter its players. Simon Parkin, The New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2023 But she’s embittered by the long-ago loss of her two children — Paloma, a baseball fan and labor union organizer who disappeared without a trace 40 years ago, and Santiago, a U.S. Army corporal, who was hit by a car. San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Feb. 2023 See All Example Sentences for embitter
Recent Examples of Synonyms for embitter
Verb
  • Indeed, after the pandemic—which initially decimated sales but then led to a surge in business that overwhelmed REI’s supply chain and operations—Artz made moves that angered many employees.
    Phil Wahba, Fortune, 10 Oct. 2025
  • The real estate developer who angered Benbrook residents this past summer with his plan to build in a floodplain has been indicted on felony charges in Parker County for alleged misappropriation of funds and theft.
    Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The journey, first to Paris and then through Switzerland and Milan and onwards to Venice, was for the most part pleasant, being blessedly free of many of the wearisome and often infuriating hindrances and misdirections that rail travel usually entails.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Don’t be surprised if this is a hot-hand situation, though, and rather infuriating.
    Jake Ciely, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Laurene Allen, an environmental advocate who lives in Merrimack, New Hampshire, where PFNA was one of several forever chemicals discovered in drinking water in 2016, was awaiting the report and is frustrated and enraged by its delay.
    Sharon Lerner, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2025
  • As part of these reforms, the Royal Navy impounded dozens of merchant vessels for allegedly evading customs duties, enraging merchants as well as mariners, shipwrights, stevedores, and others in port cities whose livelihoods depended on foreign commerce.
    Time, Time, 9 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Most of the fans keep it light and engage in friendly banter rather than antagonize one another.
    Scott Dochterman, New York Times, 10 Oct. 2025
  • That deployment antagonized demonstrators and prompted nightly clashes.
    Jason Ma, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Embitter.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/embitter. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.

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