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:
Cloudflare shares rocketed more than 15% in extended trading Thursday after a blowout earnings report helped reverse sour sentiment.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026
The whole country has seemed to be in a sour mood, unhappy with everything, feeling as if the world has gone off its axis and life is out of balance.
From Salon ● Nov. 4, 2026
A flat piece of fried dough typically topped with sour cream, garlic and grated cheese, ordinary lángos is best sampled at the city’s market halls, for 1/100th the price of Stand’s tasting menu.
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
I turned down the next block, whizzing past the cookie-cutter houses painted in one of three shades: bitter brown, sour cream, or sullen yellow.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
Brands including Ghost and C4 have partnered with confectioners to produce Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish and Starburst flavors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
For Phillips Distilling, the impact of the provincial liquor boycott was felt almost immediately due to the popularity Sour Puss in Canada.
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 odors of sweat and urine rise from the bed.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
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
For the sour element, lime juice is the classic choice, but lemon, grapefruit, sourer oranges, or any other mouth-puckering, citrusy fruit you have on hand would work too.
From Slate ● May 22, 2020
Photograph: Clive Mason/Getty Images This Queens Park Rangers vintage is now officially corked, the season turning sourer than the cheap plonk served up by the hapless Swindon sommelier John Gorman in 1993.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 14, 2012
As a matter of fact, they recited so poorly for Miss Ada and Miss Cora that the two "Dill Pickles" turned sourer than ever and threatened to report them to Miss Walters.
From Billie Bradley at Three Towers Hall or, Leading a Needed Rebellion by Janet D. Wheeler
It’s a return to innocence — a gustatory reminder of those carefree childhood moments when I indulged in the sourest of sour treats to my heart’s content.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2025
"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
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
What follows is a tale of tension, deception and a forbidden love that sours, reminiscent of Brontë novels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 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
I wish I could take the words back as Soojin’s expression instantly sours.
From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan
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
The relationship soured after a tanker carrying tens of millions of dollars worth of diesel failed to deliver its cargo in Brazil.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
Equities sank in Asia Thursday as tech firms resumed their downward spiral following a mixed bag of earnings from Wall Street titans, while sentiment was also soured by another spike in oil prices.
From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 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
How could it be otherwise, when Helen, at all times and under all circumstances, evinced for me a quiet and faithful friendship, which ill-humour never soured, nor irritation never troubled?
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
It's also giving the region's governments a different kind of headache - split between the mounting frustrations of their citizens and the risk of souring diplomatic ties with Indonesia.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
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
He was on a roll and was about to say something else; but then, quite suddenly, he stopped, his face souring as if something unpleasant had occurred to him.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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