sour (ˈsaʊə
)
Definitions
adjective
- having or denoting a sharp biting taste like that of lemon juice or vinegar Compare bitter (sense 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; 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
- See go sour
noun
- something sour
- mainly US 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
- to make or become sour
Alternative Forms
ˈsourish adjective ˈsourly adverb ˈsourness nounWord Origin
Old English sūr; related to Old Norse sūrr, Lithuanian suras salty, Old Slavonic syrŭ wet, raw, surovu green, raw, Sanskrit surā brandySynonyms
View thesaurus entryTranslations
- British English:
sour
Something that is sour has a sharp taste like the taste of a lemon.The apple was sour.ˈsaʊə ADJECTIVE The apple was sour.
- Spanish:
agrio
adj agria
- French:
aigre
adj
- German:
sauer
adj
- Chinese: 酸的 adj
- Arabic: حَامِض adj
- Portuguese: azedo adj azeda
- Russian: кислый adj кислая
- Croatian: kiseo adj kisela
- Czech: kyselý adj
- Danish: sur adj
- Dutch: zuur adj
- Finnish: hapan adj
- Greek: ξινός adj ξινή
- Italian: agro adj agra
- Japanese: 酸っぱい adj
- Korean: 신 adj
- Norwegian: sur adj
- Polish: kwaśny adj kwaśna
- Brazilian Portuguese: azedo adj azeda
- European Spanish:
agrio
adj agria
- Swedish: sur adj surt
- Thai: มีรสเปรี้ยว adj
- Turkish: ekşi adj
- Vietnamese: chua adj
Usage examples
Once Neil was out the door, anything he said would be seen as sour grapes.
, DEAD BEAT (2002)Q. You are said to have a contingency plan to split the Congress in Bihar if relations sour.
India Today (1998)It's like being at worlds without actually being at worlds... No sour grapes.
Globe and Mail (2005)Stench of success greater praise What a sour piece by Graham Spiers (August 10).
Glasgow Herald (2001)The Home Secretary gave Sandman a long, sour inspection, then turned to look at the bluebottle thumping against the window.
, GALLOWS THIEF (2002)