Full of bitterness; intensely bitter in taste or deeply marked by resentment, disappointment, or painful emotion.
From 'bitter' combined with the suffix '-ful' (Old English 'full,' meaning full of or characterized by). This archaic or poetic formation emphasizes abundant bitterness.
The suffix '-ful' makes adjectives more extreme and poetic—'bitterful' sounds more dramatic than just 'bitter,' which is why Shakespeare and poets preferred it, and it still appears in recipes describing intensely unpalatable substances.
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