What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Mild vs Bitter - What's the difference?

mild | bitter |

As adjectives the difference between mild and bitter

is that mild is gentle and not easily provoked while bitter is having an acrid taste (usually from a basic substance).

As nouns the difference between mild and bitter

is that mild is a relatively low-gravity beer, often with a dark colour; mild ale while bitter is a liquid or powder, made from bitter herbs, used in mixed drinks or as a tonic.

As a verb bitter is

to make bitter.

mild

English

(Webster 1913)

Adjective

(er)
  • Gentle and not easily provoked.
  • (of a rule or punishment) Of only moderate severity.
  • Not keenly felt or seriously intended.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=8 , passage=I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed. And thus we came by a circuitous route to Mohair, the judge occupied by his own guilty thoughts, and I by others not less disturbing.}}
  • (of an illness or pain) Not serious or dangerous.
  • * {{quote-book, author=Rachel Simon, year=2002
    • , passage=I learn that mental retardation is classified in four levels: mild , moderate, severe, and profound. , title= Riding the Bus with My Sister: A True Life Journey}}
  • * {{quote-book, author=Janice A. Gault, year=2003
    • , passage=NPDR can be further classified as mild , moderate, severe, or very severe, which can help predict how quickly the patient may progress to proliferative (neovascular) diabetic retinopathy (PDR). , title= Ophthalmology Pearls}}
  • (of weather) Moderately warm, especially less cold than expected.
  • (of a medicine or cosmetic) Acting gently and without causing harm.
  • Not sharp, or strong in flavor.

    • Synonyms

    * soft, gentle, bland, calm, tranquil, soothing, pleasant, placid, meek, kind, tender, indulgent, clement, mollifying, lenitive, assuasive * See also

    Antonyms

    * strong * harsh, severe, irritating, violent, disagreeable

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (British) A relatively low-gravity beer, often with a dark colour; mild ale
  • * 1998 , Robert Rankin, The Dance of the Voodoo Handbag (page 112)
    • 'Let me get this for the lady,' I said to Fange, who was pulling her a pint of mild .
  • * 2011 , Pete Brown, Three Sheets to the Wind
    • But Stella shouldn't really be drunk in pints the same way our dads used to drink bitter or mild that was effectively half as strong.

    Derived terms

    * mild and bitter

    External links

    * * * ----

    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)
    ----