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Bitter vs Ilicin - What's the difference?

bitter | ilicin |

As nouns the difference between bitter and ilicin

is that bitter is (usually in the plural bitters) a liquid or powder, made from bitter herbs, used in mixed drinks or as a tonic while ilicin is (organic compound) a bitter alkaloid found in holly.

As an adjective bitter

is having an acrid taste (usually from a basic substance).

As a verb bitter

is to make bitter.

bitter

English

Adjective

(en-adj)
  • Having an acrid taste (usually from a basic substance).
  • :
  • *
  • *:Long after his cigar burnt bitter , he sat with eyes fixed on the blaze. When the flames at last began to flicker and subside, his lids fluttered, then drooped?; but he had lost all reckoning of time when he opened them again to find Miss Erroll in furs and ball-gown kneeling on the hearth.
  • Harsh, piercing or stinging.
  • :
  • *1999 , (Neil Gaiman), Stardust , p.31 (Perennial paperback edition)
  • *:It was at the end of February,.
  • Hateful or hostile.
  • :
  • *(Bible), (w) iii. 19
  • *:Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
  • Cynical and resentful.
  • :
  • Usage notes

    * The one-word comparative form (bitterer) and superlative form (bitterest) exist, but are less common than their two-word counterparts (term) and (term).

    Derived terms

    * bitter pill to swallow

    See also

    * bitter end

    Antonyms

    * (cynical and resentful) optimistic

    Synonyms

    * (cynical and resentful) jaded

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (usually in the plural bitters) A liquid or powder, made from bitter herbs, used in mixed drinks or as a tonic.
  • * 1773 , Oliver Goldsmith,
  • Thus I begin: "All is not gold that glitters,
    "Pleasure seems sweet, but proves a glass of bitters .
  • A type of beer heavily flavored with hops.
  • (nautical) A turn of a cable about the bitts.
  • Derived terms

    * brought up to a bitter

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make bitter.
  • (Wolcott)
    ----

    ilicin

    English

    Noun

    (-)
  • (organic compound) A bitter alkaloid found in holly.
  • * 1852 , John King, The Eclectic Dispensatory of the United States of America (page 220)
  • They have a bitter, somewhat austere taste; their properties depend upon a principle called ilicin .
  • * 1995 , John Eastman, The Book of Swamp and Bog
  • All Ilex hollies contain the bitter compound ilicin .
  • * 1996 , Peter D Bryson, Comprehensive Reviews in Toxicology: For Emergency Clinicians
  • Ilicin is contained in holly berries (Ilex sp) and causes severe gastroirritation including nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.