bittersweet - Dictionary Definition : Vocabulary.com

The adjective bittersweet describes a taste that is a blend of bitter and sweet. Bittersweet chocolate, for example, contains more chocolate and less sugar than milk chocolate or even semisweet chocolate.

The adjective bittersweet doesn't just refer to taste. It can also describe a blend of emotions that are sweet but also tinged with sadness. If you attend a memorial service for your grandmother, for example, you can enjoy telling stories of the things you did together, but still feel sad that she's gone. The feelings and memories you have make you simultaneously happy and sad, and are therefore bittersweet.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: bittersweet

1	adj	having a taste that is a mixture of bitterness and sweetness
2	adj	tinged with sadness
3	n	twining shrub of North America having yellow capsules enclosing scarlet seeds

FULL DEFINITIONS OF: bittersweet

1

adj having a taste that is a mixture of bitterness and sweetness

Synonyms:: semisweet

: tasty
pleasing to the sense of taste

2

adj tinged with sadness

“a movie with a bittersweet ending”

Synonyms: sad
experiencing or showing sorrow or unhappiness

3

n twining shrub of North America having yellow capsules enclosing scarlet seeds

Synonyms:: American bittersweet, Celastrus scandens, climbing bittersweet, false bittersweet, shrubby bittersweet, staff vine, waxwork

Type of:: vine
a plant with a weak stem that derives support from climbing, twining, or creeping along a surface

n poisonous perennial Old World vine having violet flowers and oval coral-red berries; widespread weed in North America

Synonyms:: Solanum dulcamara, bittersweet nightshade, climbing nightshade, deadly nightshade, poisonous nightshade, woody nightshade

Type of:: nightshade
any of numerous shrubs or herbs or vines of the genus Solanum; most are poisonous though many bear edible fruit