Word.ws English Dictionary

imbitter

Syllables: im·bit·terUK/ɪmˈbɪtə/US/əmˈbɪtəɹ/

imbitter is the obsolete spelling of embitter.

Meaning of embitter

Verb

embitter (third-person singular simple present embitters, present participle embittering, simple past and past participle embittered)

  1. (archaic, transitive) To cause (something) to be or taste bitter; to bitter.
    Synonyms:
    acerbate
  2. (figuratively, transitive) To cause (a positive quality such as happiness, or a thing such as an activity or one's life) to become less good or pleasurable; also, to make (a negative quality, or thing such as a disagreement) worse or more unpleasant.
    • He imbitters not a diſtaſtfull meſſage to a forrein Prince by his indiſcretion in delivering it.1642, Thomas Fuller, “The Good Herald”, in The Holy State, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: […] Roger Daniel for John Williams, […], →OCLC, book II, paragraph 2, page 142
  3. (figuratively, transitive) To cause (someone or their feelings) to become more angry, resentful, or unfriendly; to envenom.
    • Sometimes it [pride] ſtirreth vp men, and imboldeneth them to offer vvrongs: ſometimes imbittereth men; and maketh them vvayvvard againſt the right: […]1608, John Dod, Robert Cleaver, “Chapter XIII. [Vers[e] 10. Through mere pride doth man make contentions; but with the well aduised is wisedome.]”, in A Plaine and Familiar Exposition of the...

Forms of imbitter

third-person singular presentimbitters
present participleimbittering
past participleimbittered
pastimbittered
second-person singular present (archaic)imbitterest
second-person singular past (archaic)imbitteredst
third-person singular present (archaic)imbittereth

Origin of imbitter

From im- + bitter; see further at embitter.

Words formed from imbitter

Words that rhyme with imbitter

18 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about imbitter

What is imbitter the obsolete spelling of?
Imbitter is the obsolete spelling of embitter.
How do you pronounce imbitter?
Imbitter is pronounced /ɪmˈbɪtə/ (UK).

Words near imbitter in the dictionary

  1. imbibitions
  2. imbibitory
  3. imbirussu
  4. imbition
  5. imbitions
  6. imbitter
  7. imbittered
  8. imbitterer
  9. imbitterers
  10. imbittereth
  11. imbittering

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: imbitter (page history and authors); embitter (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “imbitter.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/imbitter. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.