especially: pleasure accompanied by suffering or regret
… the bittersweet of their long separation … Christopher Morley
2
botany
a
: a poisonous Eurasian woody vine (Solanum dulcamara) of the nightshade family that has purple flowers and oval reddish berries and is naturalized (see naturalizesense 4) in North America
b
: a North American poisonous woody vine (Celastrus scandens) of the staff-tree family having clusters of small greenish flowers succeeded by yellow capsules (see capsuleentry 1 sense 2a) that open when ripe and disclose the scarlet aril
especially: pleasant but including or marked by elements of suffering or regret
a bittersweet ballad
bittersweet memories
2
: of or relating to a prepared chocolate containing little sugar
bittersweet chocolate chips
bittersweetlyadverb
bittersweetnessnoun
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The beloved local artist, who died at 77 in January, posted potential titles for his bittersweet, existentially comic paintings on a wall in his Cambridge studio.BostonGlobe.com, 16 June 2022 This is a little bittersweet, coming from the retailer background, but the industry has changed so much over the last decade. Andrew Weaver, Outside Online, 15 Apr. 2020 The opportunity to succeed at a world championships held in the U.S. excited Ellis, who called her Tokyo experience bittersweet.Los Angeles Times, 17 July 2022 The abnormal species include phragmites, multiflora rose, bush honeysuckle, garlic mustard, and, worst of all, Asiatic bittersweet, a climber that can choke out trees. Jon Waterman, Outside Online, 15 June 2020 The concert will be a little bittersweet, though, Tomasello admitted. Myrna Petlicki, Chicago Tribune, 2 June 2022 This, this is a, obviously one that is a little bittersweet for some of us on this podcast. Laura Johnston, cleveland, 14 Apr. 2022 In Indian classical music, Spanish flamenco and German orchestral composition, to name a few, the bittersweet is paramount.Washington Post, 8 Apr. 2022 As a writer-director however, his style, though still casually profane, has tended toward the dramedic, the bittersweet, the indulgently navel-gazey. Jessica Kiang, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2022
Adjective
In an Instagram post celebrating daughter Rya Rose and her recent milestones, the Teen Mom OG star admitted that these moments with the infant are bittersweet as Rya is their last baby. Skyler Caruso, Peoplemag, 6 Sep. 2022 The end of summer is always bittersweet, but the best Labor Day beauty sales of 2022 can help make the transition easy. Deanna Pai, Glamour, 2 Sep. 2022 But Sunday’s concert was bittersweet, as two of the members were absent onstage: Joshua and Hoshi were the latest members to test positive for the coronavirus. Teta Alim, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2022 Desmond said that’s a bittersweet tradeoff to lose jurisdictions that have historically been part of the North County region. Deborah Sullivan Brennan, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Dec. 2021 Biden noted that Ukraine’s Independence Day is bittersweet as thousands have been killed or wounded and millions displaced. Adela Suliman, Jennifer Hassan And Robyn Dixon, Anchorage Daily News, 24 Aug. 2022 Josh Keeney said the final tournament was bittersweet. Paul A. Smith, Journal Sentinel, 21 Aug. 2022 Coral Springs’ Amber Candido said her final club swim meet was bittersweet. Gary Curreri, Sun Sentinel, 19 Aug. 2022 The end of summer is always bittersweet, but the best Labor Day beauty sales of 2022 can help make the transition easy. Deanna Pai, Glamour, 17 Aug. 2022 See More