sour

[souuhr, sou-er]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sour ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, sour·er, sour·est.

having an acid taste, resembling that of vinegar, lemon juice, etc.; tart.

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.

below standard; poor.

harsh in spirit or temper; austere; morose; 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.

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)

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)

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.

Origin of sour

before 1000; (adj. and noun) Middle English sure, soure, Old English sūr (orig. adj.); cognate with German sauer, Dutch zuur, Old Norse sūrr; (v.) Middle English souren, derivative of the adj.

Related formssour·ish, adjectivesour·ly, adverbsour·ness, nouno·ver·sour, adjectiveo·ver·sour·ly, adverbo·ver·sour·ness, nounun·sour, adjectiveun·sour·ly, adverbun·sour·ness, noun

Synonyms for sour

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sour ON THESAURUS.COM

5. bitter. 7. severe, testy, touchy, acrimonious, cross, petulant, crabbed.

Antonyms for sour

1. sweet.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for souring

embitter, spoil, exacerbate, exasperate, envenom, curdle, turn, acidify, disenchant

Examples from the Web for souring

Contemporary Examples of souring

Frustrated by her souring relationship with Salinger, Maynard fixated on the idea of having a daughter.
15 Revelations from New J.D. Salinger Biography
Andrew Romano
September 2, 2013
Political independents are also souring on Obama, with just 37 percent approving of his job performance, a 10-point drop.
In Wake of Surveillance Stories, Barack Obama’s Poll Numbers Plummet
John Avlon
June 17, 2013
Of the high hopes that characterize the Western Aliyah (immigration) souring so dramatically, so brutally.
What Prisoner X Scandal?
Gil Troy
February 20, 2013
And then—five days later, with the polls showing Americans souring on the Lebanon policy—Reagan decided to pull the troops out.
How Romney Is Like Reagan
Peter Beinart
June 20, 2011
Where you once cold-shouldered friends without warning, you now realize you did so out of fear that they were souring on you.
Zodiac Beast
Starsky + Cox
April 9, 2011

Historical Examples of souring

The work of the germ in the dairy is not, however, confined to souring the milk.
Agriculture for Beginners
Charles William Burkett
What are the most favorable conditions for the souring of milk?
Human Foods and Their Nutritive Value
Harry Snyder
The souring is done by passing the goods through an acid liquor at 2° Tw.
The Dyeing of Cotton Fabrics
Franklin Beech
They were souring on him as they would have expressed it in their language.
The American Claimant
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
The struggle with his uncle seemed to be souring him or deadening him.
Beauchamp's Career, Complete
George Meredith

British Dictionary definitions for souring

Sour

noun

a variant spelling of Sur

sour

adjective

having or denoting a sharp biting taste like that of lemon juice or vinegarCompare bitter (def. 1)

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; distastefula 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

go sour or turn sour to become unfavourable or inharmonioushis marriage went sour

noun

something sour

mainly US any of several iced drinks usually made with spirits, lemon juice, and icea whiskey sour

an acid used in laundering and bleaching clothes or in curing animal skins

verb

to make or become sour

Derived Formssourish, adjectivesourly, adverbsourness, noun

Word Origin for sour

Old English sūr; related to Old Norse sūrr, Lithuanian suras salty, Old Slavonic syrŭ wet, raw, surovu green, raw, Sanskrit surā brandy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for souring

sour

adj.

Old English sur "sour, tart, acid, fermented," from Proto-Germanic *sura- "sour" (cf. Old Norse surr, Middle Dutch suur, Dutch zuur, Old High German sur, German Sauer), from PIE root *suro- "sour, salty, bitter" (cf. Old Church Slavonic syru, Russian syroi "moist, raw;" Lithuanian suras "salty," suris "cheese").

French sur "sour, tart" (12c.) is a Germanic loan-word. Meaning :having a peevish disposition" is from early 13c. Sense in whisky sour (1885) is "with lemon added" (1862). Sour cream is attested from 1855.

sour

c.1300, from sour (adj.). Cf. Old High German suren, German säuern. Related: Soured; souring.