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bittersweet

   Also found in: Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
bit·ter·sweet  (btr-swt)
n.
1. A woody vine of the genus Celastrus, especially the North American species C. scandens and the eastern Asian species C. orbiculata, having small, round, yellow-orange fruits that open at maturity to expose red seeds. Also called staff tree.
3. A dark to deep reddish orange.
adj.
1. Bitter and sweet at the same time: bittersweet chocolate.
2. Producing or expressing a mixture of pain and pleasure: a movie with a bittersweet ending.
3. Dark to deep reddish-orange.

[After its roots, which are said to taste bitter, then sweet when chewed.]

bittersweet [ˈbɪtəˌswiːt]
n
1. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Plants) any of several North American woody climbing plants of the genus Celastrus, esp C. scandens, having orange capsules that open to expose scarlet-coated seeds: family Celastraceae
2. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Plants) another name for woody nightshade
adj
1. tasting of or being a mixture of bitterness and sweetness
2. pleasant but tinged with sadness
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.bittersweetbittersweet - poisonous perennial Old World vine having violet flowers and oval coral-red berries; widespread weed in North America
genus Solanum, Solanum - type genus of the Solanaceae: nightshade; potato; eggplant; bittersweet
nightshade - any of numerous shrubs or herbs or vines of the genus Solanum; most are poisonous though many bear edible fruit
2.bittersweetbittersweet - twining shrub of North America having yellow capsules enclosing scarlet seeds
Celastrus, genus Celastrus - genus of woody vines and erect shrubs (type genus of the Celastraceae) that is native chiefly to Asia and Australia: includes bittersweet
vine - a plant with a weak stem that derives support from climbing, twining, or creeping along a surface
Adj.1.bittersweet - tinged with sadness; "a movie with a bittersweet ending"
sad - experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness; "feeling sad because his dog had died"; "Better by far that you should forget and smile / Than that you should remember and be sad"- Christina Rossetti
2.bittersweet - having a taste that is a mixture of bitterness and sweetness
tasty - pleasing to the sense of taste; "a tasty morsel"
Translations
bittersweet [ˈbɪtəswiːt] ADJ (lit, fig) → agridulce
bittersweet [ˌbɪtərˈswiːt] adjaigre-doux*(douce)
bittersweet
adj (lit, fig)bittersüß
n (Bot) → Kletternder Baumwürger; (= nightshade)Bittersüßer Nachtschatten
bittersweet [ˈbɪtəˌswiːt] adj (taste) → agrodolce; (love affair) → dolceamaro/a
bittersweet [ˈbɪtəˌswiːt] adj (taste) → agrodolce; (love affair) → dolceamaro/a


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? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
Offer platters of different chocolates -- from milk to bittersweet -- along with a variety of fresh and dried fruits and nuts.
A bittersweet and hard-hitting glimpse into what farm life was really like.
Adam, whose choreography is known for its gorgeous distortion of classical vocabulary, has fertile material to work with: "Curtain" is a bittersweet narrative that explores themes of loss and raw human interaction.
 
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