sour
adjective
having an acid taste, resembling that of vinegar, lemon juice, etc.; tart.
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sourer.
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:
Tokyo said Friday it had demanded the immediate release of Japan Tobacco's assets seized in Russia, as relations with Moscow sour following the arrest of a Japanese journalist on spying allegations.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026
For a quick stroganoff-ish dinner, I’ll simmer them with mushrooms, frozen aromatics, a gravy packet and fresh thyme, then finish everything with sour cream.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026
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
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
His expression was so sour, he looked as if he’d just drunk a glass of vinegar.
From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney
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
The critically-acclaimed Sour was inspired by heartbreak and feelings of loneliness.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 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
We don’t have to talk much, cuz we know the drill: Snickers, Milky Way, Now and Later, M&M’s, Sour Patch Kids, Twizzlers.
From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist
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
But starting today, in New York's Times Square, the American flag will have a distinctly sourer appearance.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 1, 2014
You look sourer and idler than the lion's head that dangles at your shoulder.
From Hypolympia Or, The Gods in the Island, an Ironic Fantasy by Edmund Gosse
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
Perhaps the sourest note came from ABC with word that it’s canceling “Nashville” after four seasons.
From Seattle Times ● May 13, 2016
She muttered something very unpleasant between her teeth, and then spoke aloud, in her sourest tones, to May Felton.
From From Veldt Camp Fires by H.A. Bryden
Two journalists settled onto barstools beneath signs for pilsners and cherry sours.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 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
On the flip side, temporary workers are also among the first to lose jobs when the broader economy sours.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026
The question sours in my mouth as he turns back to yanking the rest of the tattered plants.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
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
But experts say Malaysian attitudes towards migrants, particularly the Rohingya, soured during the Covid-19 pandemic when they became targets of misinformation about the disease.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
However, Federal Reserve tightening and multidecade highs in Treasury yields have soured the mood.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Him and the woman looked at one the ’nother and soured up their faces.
From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis
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
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
The junk-bond market is also one of the best early signals of a souring economy, since low-rated borrowers feel stress first.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
“Bunds have chances to stabilize further ahead of the weekend,” Commerzbank’s Marco Stoeckle says in a note, citing “slightly souring business sentiment in the euro area and slowing supply.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 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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