I. ˈsau̇(ə)r, ˈsau̇ə, esp in the South ˈsau̇wə(r adjective
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English sūr; akin to Old High German sūr sour, Old Norse sūrr sour, Lithuanian suras salty, Old Slavic syrŭ moist, raw
1. : causing or characterized by the one of the four basic taste sensations produced chiefly by acids
sour pickles
sour green apples for pies
— compare bitter , salt , sweet
2.
a.
(1) : having the acid taste or smell of or as if of fermentation : rancid , turned
sour beer
sour milk
the smell of wet clothing is sour — Norman Mailer
(2) : of or relating to fermentation
the sour process for manufacturing starch
b. : smelling or tasting of decay : putrid , rotten
sour breath
a dense drift of dead nettles — their sour odor haunting the air — Walter de la Mare
c.
(1) : proving unsound or unpopular : bad , wrong
private lending institutions unloaded their sour investments on the Treasury — Harrison Smith
— usually used with go or turn
not enough people rented them and the project went sour — Reporter
a proposal which quickly turned sour even in the Republican camp — Economist
(2) : robbed of illusion : disenchanted
halfway through the book … went sour on Marxism — Alfred Kazin
3.
a. : of a disagreeable kind : unpleasant , distasteful
find it easier if they … do not have to hear too often too much of the sour truth — Walter Lippmann
a sour job, like washing up the dishes after a party — George Weller
that's a sour harbor in a sou'east gale — Mary H. Vorse
b. : of a cross or sullen nature : dour , morose
a sour disgruntled man of small position — Margaret Mead
take a sour view of recent contributions of nuclear physics to human progress — J.B.Priestley
c. : expressive of ill humor or dissatisfaction : peevish
made a sour grimace — L.C.Douglas
d. : taking a hostile attitude : down — used with on
unions are sour on the new merger, and may … form a new group — Kiplinger Washington Letter
4.
a. : acid in reaction and usually needing drainage as well as liming — used of soil
b. dialect Britain : disagreeable in texture or taste : harsh , rank — used of grass
5. archaic : inclement , miserable — used of weather
sour gusts of wind and rain — Archibald Lovell
6.
a. : containing malodorous sulfur compounds (as hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans) — used especially of natural gas, petroleum, and petroleum distillates; compare doctor test
b. : inaccurate or inferior in quality : jarring , poor
must hear the sour note and correct it — C.W.Pearce
his … drives were often wild, his putting sour — Time
Synonyms:
acid , acidulous , tart , dry : sour is often interchangeable with acid but in addition is applied to that which through fermentation has lost its sweet or neutral taste; it may or may not suggest rancidness
sour wine
sour bread
acid applies to that which has a biting taste in its natural or normal state
acid fruits
acidulous implies a degree of acidity
mineral waters pleasantly acidulous
while tart indicates a sharp but often an agreeable acidity
cooks prefer tart apples for pies
dry applies to wines that are bland without being sweet. In more figurative senses, sour applies to the peevish or morose; acidulous and tart to asperity, pungency, or sharpness; acid to the biting or caustic
a sour man was Andrew Bogue that day, and sourer was he now. Nor word nor syllable would he utter — William Black
she's none too well pleased about it. A discarded woman never is; she always turns sour on you — Max Peacock
the acidulous tongue … had impaired working relationships with his British, Chinese, and American colleagues — John Fischer
tart temper never mellows with age — Washington Irving
his wit became acid; his letters are filled with caustic comment to sharpen the temper of those on the fighting line — V.L.Parrington
dry may suggest matter-of-fact impersonal presentation of the humorous, sarcastic, or ironic
into these tiny paragraphs he packed his dry wit and his easy, good-natured satire on the follies of the day — Eleanor M. Sickles
a story by Maupassant, dry and ironical in its beginning — V.S.Pritchett
II. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from sour (I)
1.
a.
(1) : something acidulous
film yeasts may develop on … pickles, including sours and dills — Crops in Peace & War
(2) : the primary taste sensation produced by acid stimuli
b. : something unpleasant or distasteful
take the good with the bad, the sweet with the sour
2. : an acid or acidic compound (as sodium fluosilicate) used in dilute water solution especially in bleaching or laundering to neutralize alkali and decompose any remaining bleach or soap — compare gray sour 2, white sour
3. : a cocktail made with spirituous liquor, lemon or lime juice, sugar, and sometimes also soda water, shaken in ice and strained, and often served garnished with a maraschino cherry and slice of orange
whisky sour
gin sour
III. adverb
( -er/-est )
Etymology: Middle English, from sour (I)
: sourly
IV. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English souren, from sour (I)
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to become sour : ferment , rot
made a start of yeast in that keg … by letting some dough sour in it — W.F.Harris
there is no need for carpets to sour from cleaning — Boxoffice
b. : to become acid or unproductive — used of soil
2.
a. : to become peevish or morose
a laughing girl, but she soured early and took to other ways — A.E.Coppard
b. : to lose interest : become disillusioned or fed up
prospective investors soured when they found the company would pocket most of the proceeds
— usually used with on
voters can sour on a man who runs too many times for the same office — J.A.Morris b.1904
c. : to become impaired : go bad : deteriorate
could … feel his grief souring into jealousy and resentment — Elizabeth Enright
relations with his neighbors suddenly soured over the situation
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cause to ferment
yeast is used to sour the wort for beer
b. : to cause to spoil or become acidulous
tainted vessels sour what they contain — Philip Francis
c. : to make sour
some grasses sour land
2.
a. : to cause to deteriorate : make distasteful : impair
career was soured by inability to get along with … his colleagues — Lynn Montross
a taste of Africa during two hunting trips … soured him for city life — Newsweek
b.
(1) : to make cross or gloomy : disgruntle , irritate
everything in the galley had gone adrift and soured the cook — Llewellyn Howland
(2) : to destroy the faith or enthusiasm of : disappoint , disillusion
refused to intervene … this soured many European idealists — Janet Flanner
— usually used with on
soured me on wealth, made me suspicious of the whole system — W.A.White
c. obsolete : to give a sour expression to
souring his cheeks — Shakespeare
3. : to treat with a dilute acid solution especially in bleaching, dyeing, and laundering
4. : to macerate (lime) for plaster or mortar
Synonyms: see exacerbate