bitter pill

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Paramount would have a bitter pill to swallow if regulators actually blocked the transaction.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

For USC, it was an especially bitter pill to swallow, considering how well things had started.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2026

The sale was a bit of a bitter pill for Simmons to swallow, leaving him with just $200,000 in profit after he paid $10.8 million for the combined properties.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 27, 2026

Defeat was another bitter pill for Zverev, who is still searching for a first Slam crown aged 28 after being a three-time finalist, including last year in Australia when Jannik Sinner beat him.

From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026

But even among poor whites, the collapse of slavery was a bitter pill.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander