bitter -
Feeling angry, hurt, or resentful due to a bad experience, or having a sharp, unpleasant taste (often the opposite of sweet).
When the car broke down 5 blocks from our house, we walked home in the bitter cold of winter.
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drudgery -
Hard, menial, or dull work
Jack couldn't wait until 5:00 so that he could escape the drudgery of the office.
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harsh -
Cruel or severe
In Catholic schools, nuns carry rulers to deliver harsh punishment to disobedient children.
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noun
hooey -
Nonsense, foolish, and wrong
The scam artist was trying to trick people into handing over their money, but what he was selling was just a bunch of hooey.
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stigma -
A mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person
In "The Scarlet Letter," Hester Prynne must deal with the stigma of having an out-of-wedlock child in a Puritan setting.
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nasty -
Highly unpleasant, especially to the senses; physically nauseating
Aimee pinched her nose to avoid the nasty smell coming from the garbage truck.
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scandal -
An event that is considered so wrong that it shocks people
When the Secretary of the Treasury was caught stealing money, it caused such a scandal that the whole administraton was swept out of office during the next election.
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scandalous -
Describing something that is morally or legally wrong and causes a great deal of gossip or anger in society.
His scandalous 'borrowing of campaign money' became the subject of intense media scrutiny, leading to his resignation.
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dire -
(of a situation or event) extremely serious or urgent
Finding survivors under the earthquake's rubble was a dire situation.
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tacky -
In bad taste
Sam's hitting on women at the funeral was an extremely tacky thing to do.
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vile -
Extremely unpleasant
Mr. Burns was a vile man who would harm anybody if it meant he could profit from it.
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toxic -
Containing or being something poisonous especially when capable of causing serious injury.
After years that the chemical factory dumped waste in Pine river, the river became too toxic for anyone to safely visit.
