sour Hear it!

sour Definition

sour (so̵ur)

adjective

  1. having the sharp, acid taste of lemon juice, vinegar, green fruit, etc.
  2. made acid or rank by or as by fermentation sour milk
    1. cross, bad-tempered, peevish, morose, etc. a sour mood
    2. ill-disposed and bitter sour toward former associates
  4. below what is usual or normal; poor; bad his game has gone sour
  5. distasteful or unpleasant
  6. gratingly wrong or off pitch a sour note
  7. excessively acid: said of soil
  8. tainted with sulfur compounds: said of gasoline, etc.

Etymology: ME soure < OE sur, akin to Ger sauer, ON sūrr < IE *suro-, sour, salty > Latvian sũrs, salty, bitter

noun

  1. that which is sour; something sour
  2. ☆ a cocktail made with lemon or lime juice, sugar, and, usually, soda water a whiskey sour

transitive verb, intransitive verb

to make or become sour the milk will sour, soured on life

sour Related Forms
sour′ly adverb sour′·ness noun
sour Synonyms

sour

modif.

  1. Sour in taste

    acid, acidulated, tart, acetous, vinegary, fermented, rancid, musty, turned, acidulous, acetose, acidic, salty, bitter, acrid, caustic, cutting, stinging, peppery, harsh, irritating, unsavory, vitriolic, tangy, vinegarish, briny, brackish, astringent, dry, sharp, keen, biting, pungent, piquant, acerb*, acerbic*, acetic*, curdled, foxy*, sourish, subacid*, green*, unripe*, acescent, with a kick*.

    Antonyms sweet*, mild*, bland. *

  2. Sour in temper

    on edge, ill-natured, grouchy; see irritable.

sour usually implies an unpleasant sharpness of taste and often connotes fermentation or rancidity sour milk; acid suggests a sourness that is normal or natural a lemon is an acid fruit; acidulous suggests a slightly sour or acid quality acidulous spring water; tart suggests a slightly stinging sharpness or sourness and usually connotes that this may be pleasant to the taste a tart cherry pie

sour Synonyms

sour

v.

turn, ferment, spoil, go bad, acidulate, acidify, acetify, envenom, make sour, acerbate, curdle, tartarize.

sour Usage Examples

Object

  • cream: Dill is traditionally added to any dish with a white sauce, from potato salad to sour cream fresh vegetable dip.
  • relation: Instead, people like Lamont are trying to sour the bilateral relations between two historical allies.
  • relationship: Any dispute over finances is likely to sour the relationship to the detriment of both parties.

Adjective complement with noun phrase

  • turn: Keep pot size increase to a minimum - too much compost unoccupied by roots can turn the soil sour.

Modifies a noun

  • grape: Sour grapes on behalf of your daddy, maybe?
  • cream: Try adding a dash of sour cream with the thyme garnish.
  • rootstock: Growers could only protect their trees from tristeza by not using sour orange rootstocks, which are highly susceptible to the virus.
  • pork: Local business people are lunchtime regulars, tucking into set menus of both crispy aromatic duck & sweet & sour pork.
  • taste: These people have left a sour taste in my mouth.
  • sauce: The chicken dhansak was above average, a good portion of chicken in a sour sweet sauce.

Modifying Another Word

  • slightly: This gave the sushi a slightly sour taste, which became very popular.
  • somewhat: Local wildlife With a somewhat sour taste in my mouth from immigration, I ventured into Cairns.
  • quickly: Workers quickly sour on a boss who plays favorites or punishes scapegoats.
  • rather: Plain Term used to describe dull liquor often with a rather sour taste.
  • too: Not too sour - more a hint than a blast!
  • little: They are generally a little sour to work up your appetite.

Used with why or when

  • when: A Tranmere Rovers fanatic's favorite striker just can't stop scoring but his affections turn sour when Super Davie scores once too often.

Used with adjective complement

  • turn: The open rivalry turns sour between two groups of a girl's college.
  • go: I found the noodles had gone sour, most food was very old.
  • taste: Nowadays, because we are used to high levels of sugar in our food, the crab apple tastes really sour.
sour Quotes

The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.

—Bible (Old Testament)

Here one is in Later Life, and it's perfectly pleasant really, not for a moment that garden of cactus and sour grapes I'd always assumed it must be.

—Merrill,James Ingram

You gotta take the sour with the bitter.

—Goldwyn, Sam(uel) originally  Schmuel Gelbfisz

   Tout au monde est me"  le¤   d'amertume et de charmes: La guerre a ses douceurs, l'hymen a ses alarmes. Everything in the world is a mixture of the sweet and the sour: War has its own sweetness and marriage its alarms.

—La Fontaine,Jean de

My life will be sour grapes and ashes without you.

—Ashford, Daisy Mary Margaret

The Red Cow was very respectable, shealways behaved like a perfect lady and she knew What was What. To her a thing was either black or whiteöthere was no question of it being grey or perhaps pink. People were good or they were badöthere was nothing in between. Dandelions were either sweet or souröthere were never any moderately nice ones.

—Travers, P(amela) L(yndon)