sour
adjective
having an acid taste, resembling that of vinegar, lemon juice, etc.; tart.
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Sourest.
sour
American
[sauuhr, sau-er]
/ saʊər, ˈsaʊ ər /
adjective
sourer,
sourest
-
having an acid taste, resembling that of vinegar, lemon juice, etc.; tart.
- Antonyms:
- sweet
-
rendered acid or affected by fermentation; fermented.
-
producing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is not bitter, salt, or sweet.
-
characteristic of something fermented.
a sour smell.
-
distasteful or disagreeable; unpleasant.
- Synonyms:
- unsatisfactory, subpar, suboptimal, bitter
-
below standard; poor.
It was a sour effort all around, the kind of effort that doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
-
harsh in spirit or temper; acrimonious; disagreeable; peevish.
-
Agriculture. (of soil) having excessive acidity.
-
(of gasoline or the like) contaminated by sulfur compounds.
-
Music. off-pitch; badly produced.
a sour note.
noun
-
something that is sour.
-
any of various cocktails consisting typically of whiskey or gin with lemon or lime juice and sugar and sometimes soda water, often garnished with a slice of orange, a maraschino cherry, or both.
-
any of various beers with a particularly acidic or tart taste, made so by acid-producing bacteria and yeast in the brew.
Sours are a good choice to go with deep-fried bar food.
-
an acid or an acidic substance used in laundering and bleaching to neutralize alkalis and to decompose residual soap or bleach.
verb (used without object)
-
sours,
present (3rd person singular)
-
soured,
past participle, past
-
souring
present participle
-
to become sour, rancid, mildewed, etc.; spoil.
Milk sours quickly in warm weather. The laundry soured before it was ironed.
-
to become unpleasant or strained; worsen; deteriorate.
Relations between the two countries have soured.
-
to become bitter, disillusioned, or disinterested.
I guess I soured when I learned he was married.
My loyalty soured after his last book.
-
Agriculture. (of soil) to develop excessive acidity.
verb (used with object)
-
sours,
present (3rd person singular)
-
soured,
past participle, past
-
souring
present participle
-
to make sour; cause sourness in.
What do they use to sour the mash?
-
to cause spoilage in; rot.
Defective cartons soured the apples.
-
to make bitter, disillusioned, or disagreeable.
One misadventure needn't have soured him. That swindle soured a great many potential investors.
sour
1
British
/ ˈsaʊə /
adjective
-
having or denoting a sharp biting taste like that of lemon juice or vinegar Compare bitter
-
made acid or bad, as in the case of milk or alcohol, by the action of microorganisms
-
having a rancid or unwholesome smell
-
(of a person's temperament) sullen, morose, or disagreeable
-
(esp of the weather or climate) harsh and unpleasant
-
disagreeable; distasteful
a sour experience
-
(of land, etc) lacking in fertility, esp due to excessive acidity
-
(of oil, gas, or petrol) containing a relatively large amount of sulphur compounds
-
to become unfavourable or inharmonious
his marriage went sour
noun
-
something sour
-
any of several iced drinks usually made with spirits, lemon juice, and ice
a whiskey sour
-
an acid used in laundering and bleaching clothes or in curing animal skins
verb
Sour
2
British
/ sʊə /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
oversournessnoun
-
sournessnoun
-
unsournessnoun
-
oversouradjective
-
sourishadjective
-
unsouradjective
-
oversourlyadverb
-
sourlyadverb
-
unsourlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
soursimple
-
sourssimple
-
have souredperfect
-
has souredperfect
-
am souringprogressive
-
are souringprogressive
-
is souringprogressive
-
have been souringperfect progressive
-
has been souringperfect progressive
Past
-
souredsimple
-
had souredperfect
-
was souringprogressive
-
were souringprogressive
-
had been souringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sour
First recorded before 1000; Middle English adjective and noun sure, soure, Old English adjective sūr; cognate with German sauer, Dutch zuur, Old Norse sūrr
Explanation
If something is sour, it has a tangy or sharp flavor, like a lemon. Your brother may love the taste of limes, while they're way too sour for you. Sometimes this adjective is used to describe a fermented odor (the way milk smells when it goes bad), or a wrong note in music, or even a terrible mood: "Mom was acting so sour that I didn't even ask her if we could have pizza for dinner." Sour comes from the Old English sur, "sour, tart, or fermented."
Vocabulary lists containing sour
"The Sun Rising" by John Donne
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odes
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Part 2 Vocabulary (Unit 3)
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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.
See Examples For:
Traditional Hungarian cuisine is comfort food on steroids, with staples that include sour cream, lard and foie gras, and breads that run from buttery, brioche-style kalács to hard-crusted, fluffy-white kenyér.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
Trump, however, was not entirely sour on Brazil's leftist president, declaring, "I like Lula, I get along with him very well."
From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026
The latest market action leaves Kaiser wary, particularly given the so-far fairly sour reaction to the current corporate reporting season.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
Ground yourself - use strong sensory experiences such as holding an ice cube or tasting something sour or spicy.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
I shot him a sour look, though I knew from the warmth in his voice that he was only teasing.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
Nerds, Nutter Butters and Sour Patch Kids are turning up in sweet collaborations on restaurant menus.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
The boycott put Phillips Distilling, the family-owned maker of Sour Puss based in Minnesota, into a tight spot.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
I ask if Sour Patch Kids are gluten-free, and I get a warning about additives in the ingredient list.
From Slate ● May 6, 2026
Sour cream and cheese to add tang; pinto beans and red salsa for heartiness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
Sour milk cannot be made unsour, but the three Incorrigible children were clearly made of different and more resilient stuff, and for some reason this made her feel deeply proud of them.
From "The Unseen Guest" by Maryrose Wood
For the rest of us, however, inflation may leave a sourer taste.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2022
Pickle flavor hits all the right notes for people — especially those under 40 — who are looking for bigger, bolder, brighter and sourer flavors, food and beverage researchers said.
From New York Times ● Aug. 1, 2022
Compared with punchier, sourer, more cynical sitcoms—from All in the Family to Seinfeld to The Office—that found humor in humanity’s bad behavior, Friends was smiley and conflict-averse to the point of being featherweight.
From Slate ● Sep. 21, 2014
Now three decades old, the unused vacuum cleaners still bristle with the glory of newness, though the sculpture's beatification of consumer commodities tastes even sourer in our more ecologically minded age.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 25, 2014
Saying nothing, I smiled a little bitterly as I marched away to carry in water, and then the lady, whose thin face seemed sourer than usual that evening, set me to wash the supper dishes.
From Lorimer of the Northwest by Alfred James Dewey
"Has that not just left the sourest taste in the mouth at the end of this international summer? I'm dumbfounded," said England all-rounder Georgia Elwiss on BBC Test Match Special.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2022
The sourest, meanest mouth in the history of portraiture.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 23, 2020
Filipino cooking is among the world’s brightest, sweetest, sourest, and funkiest of world cuisines; by comparison, almost any other food seems bland.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 19, 2018
I predict no Seattle starter makes it to the fourth inning from here on in, that the offense wilts like a dying daisy, and that the M’s end their season on the sourest of notes.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 21, 2017
George was animated by the sourest jealousy of his son.
From A History of the Four Georges, Volume I by Justin McCarthy
Two journalists settled onto barstools beneath signs for pilsners and cherry sours.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026
The positions are part of a monthslong wager designed to pay off if the hype around AI sours.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Everything reasonable from the first half quickly sours.
From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026
The clatter of cutlery as an atmosphere sours over dinner.
From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2026
Jayden’s phone rings and his whole expression sours.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
But our relationship — never a personal one, but close enough that we greeted each other whenever we inevitably ran into each other — soured in later years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Wall Street grew more worried over Netflix’s viewership trends on Tuesday, as investors soured on the streaming giant’s sales outlook and stumbles in its advertising business.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 20, 2026
Football has not been the winner and the whole game has been soured by this story, not just the Premier League.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
Emails obtained by The Wall Street Journal show relations have soured to the point where county officials appear more inclined to block the project than negotiate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
His expression soured a little, but he shrugged.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
But as Sargent started her academic studies in 2023, she noticed many of her classmates were abruptly souring on computer science.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 19, 2026
That conflict has sent the cost of petrol - and in particular diesel - skyrocketing, souring his standing with the American public.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Samsung Electronics stock had its worst day in three weeks on Monday as investors reacted to its shareholder-return plan, souring the mood for other memory-chip making rivals.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
Is the sunnier outlook a move to win back customers and the public who are souring on AI’s world-upending promise?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
Doubt curls into my stomach, souring it with anxiety.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
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