adjective

sour

SOW-uh

adjective

Having a sharp, acidic taste, like lemon or vinegar.

"The lemonade was too sour for the kids to enjoy."

Spoiled or gone bad from fermenting.

"The milk had gone sour after sitting out all day."

Unpleasant, bad-tempered, or unfriendly.

"He gave a sour look when his suggestion was rejected."

"Relations between the two neighbors turned sour after the fence dispute."

noun

A cocktail made with a spirit, citrus juice, and sugar.

"He ordered a whiskey sour at the bar."

How to Use Sour

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA sharp, acidic taste — or, figuratively, a bad mood or a relationship that has curdled.

Common mistake

"Sour grapes" means pretending not to want something you can't have, not literally sour fruit.

Common pairings

sour taste go sour sour mood whiskey sour

Word Forms

sourer comparative, soured past tense, sours plural, sour plural, soured plural, sours singular, sour singular, soured singular, sourest singular, souredst singular, soureth singular, sourest superlative

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Fill the Gap

Can you complete this real example?

The lemonade was too _____ for the kids to enjoy.

Etymology

From Old English sur, from Proto-Germanic *suraz — the same ancient root that gives German sauer and Dutch zuur.

Synonyms

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acetose acetous acid acidulent tart

Antonyms

sweet

Related Words

acid girl good sweet bitter Christian prostitute nice

Rhymes for sour

our hour four your pour tour dour flour scour odour amour colour

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