Comment by layer8
6 days ago
I would say “resentful”, “disgruntled”, “aggrieved”. “Bitter” feels like a more longer-lasting, somewhat less emotional condition to me.
And I agree that it has nothing to do with tears. The actual etymology stems from sailors: https://www.planoly.com/glossary/salty
True enough, there are endless subtleties to language (English in particular) that make words simultaneously vague and extremely specific.
Wiktionary defines bitter as "cynical and resentful", which doesn't quite capture the "more longer-lasting, somewhat less emotional condition" part of it.