If you describe an experience as bittersweet, you mean that it has some happy aspects and some sad ones.
...bittersweet memories of his first appearance for the team.
2. adjective
A bittersweet taste seems bitter and sweet at the same time.
...a wine with a bitter-sweet flavour.
bittersweet in British English
(ˈbɪtəˌswiːt)
noun
1.
any of several North American woody climbing plants of the genus Celastrus, esp C. scandens, having orange capsules that open to expose scarlet-coated seeds: family Celastraceae
2. another name for woody nightshade
adjective
3.
tasting of or being a mixture of bitterness and sweetness
4.
pleasant but tinged with sadness
bittersweet in American English
(ˈbɪtərˌswit)
noun
1. US
a North American twining woody vine (Celastrus scandens) of the staff-tree family, with poisonous leaves, and bearing clusters of small orange fruits with bright-red fleshy seeds
2.
a poisonous, climbing European vine (Solanum dulcamara) of the nightshade family, with purple flowers and red berries, now widely found as a weed in North America
3.
a.
bitterness and sweetness combined
b.
pleasure mixed with overtones of sadness
adjective
4.
both bitter and sweet, as dark chocolate made with little sugar
5.
pleasant with overtones of sadness
Examples of 'bittersweet' in a sentence
bittersweet
Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?
The Sun (2011)
The bittersweet flavour of glazed chicory is the perfect foil for gamey roast partridge.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Oh, the bittersweet taste of irony.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Did you leave office with a bittersweet taste, or did you feel it was time?
Christianity Today (2000)
This gently paced love song is bittersweet, grungy indie without any raw edges.
The Sun (2011)
It was an excruciatingly bittersweet moment for Winnie.
The Sun (2006)
It was a bittersweet moment for Sally.
The Sun (2012)
It's always a bittersweet moment.
The Sun (2011)
Gentle drama with bittersweet humour.
The Sun (2008)
I had wanted to do so much better, so it was a very bittersweet moment.
The Sun (2016)
A bittersweet moment, not just for the contestants but for some of us viewers as well.
The Sun (2015)
Like a graduation, it is a bittersweet moment: something treasured coming to an end.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Shared humanity isn't only the stuff of bittersweet humour, though.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
She calls theirs'a bittersweet story' with regrets over missed opportunities and the joy of finally being together.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Although it's not a conventional romcom, this bittersweet story will still have you smiling through your tears.
The Sun (2009)
We end, as we must, with an act of forgiveness but its sweet naivety is tinged with the bittersweet taste of experience.