sour

adjective

/ˈsaʊə(r)/

/ˈsaʊər/

Idioms

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having a taste like that of a lemon or of fruit that is not ready to eat
- sour apples
- a sour flavour
opposite sweet
Synonyms bitter
bitter
- pungent
- sour
- acrid
- sharp
- acid
These words all describe a strong, unpleasant taste or smell.
- bitter (of a taste or smell) strong and usually unpleasant; (of food or drink) having a bitter taste.
- pungent (of a smell or taste) strong and usually unpleasant; (of food or smoke) having a pungent smell or taste:
  the pungent smell of burning rubber
- sour (of a taste) bitter like the taste of a lemon or of fruit that is not ready to eat; (of food or drink) having a sour taste:
  Too much pulp produces a sour wine.
- acrid (of a smell or taste) strong and unpleasant; (of smoke) having an acrid smell:
  acrid smoke from burning tyres
- sharp (of a taste or smell) strong and slightly bitter; (of food or drink) having a sharp taste:
  The cheese has a distinctively sharp taste.
- acid (of a taste or smell) bitter, like the taste of a lemon or of fruit that is not ready to eat; (of food or drink) having an acid taste.
which word?A bitter taste is usually unpleasant, but some people enjoy the bitter taste of coffee or chocolate. No other word can describe this taste. A sharp or pungent taste is more strong than unpleasant, especially when describing cheese. Sharp, sour and acid all describe the taste of a lemon or a fruit that is not ready to eat. An acrid smell is strong and unpleasant, especially the smell of smoke or burning, but not the smell of food.Patterns
- a(n) bitter/pungent/sour/acrid/sharp/acid taste/flavour
- a(n) bitter/pungent/acrid/sharp/acid smell/odour
- a(n) bitter/sour/sharp/acid fruit
- pungent/sharp cheese
- pungent/acrid smoke
Wordfinder
- bitter
- bland
- hot
- pungent
- savoury
- sour
- spicy
- sweet
- tart
- taste
see also sweet-and-sour
Extra Examples
- The sauce tasted very sour.
- Chinese sweet-and-sour pork
- Too much pulp produces a sour wine.
Topics Cooking and eatingb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- smell
- taste
- …
adverb
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
phrases
- leave a sour taste in somebody’s mouth
See full entry
(especially of milk) having an unpleasant taste or smell because it is not fresh
- to turn/go sour
- a sour smell
Synonyms bitter
bitter
- pungent
- sour
- acrid
- sharp
- acid
These words all describe a strong, unpleasant taste or smell.
- bitter (of a taste or smell) strong and usually unpleasant; (of food or drink) having a bitter taste.
- pungent (of a smell or taste) strong and usually unpleasant; (of food or smoke) having a pungent smell or taste:
  the pungent smell of burning rubber
- sour (of a taste) bitter like the taste of a lemon or of fruit that is not ready to eat; (of food or drink) having a sour taste:
  Too much pulp produces a sour wine.
- acrid (of a smell or taste) strong and unpleasant; (of smoke) having an acrid smell:
  acrid smoke from burning tyres
- sharp (of a taste or smell) strong and slightly bitter; (of food or drink) having a sharp taste:
  The cheese has a distinctively sharp taste.
- acid (of a taste or smell) bitter, like the taste of a lemon or of fruit that is not ready to eat; (of food or drink) having an acid taste.
which word?A bitter taste is usually unpleasant, but some people enjoy the bitter taste of coffee or chocolate. No other word can describe this taste. A sharp or pungent taste is more strong than unpleasant, especially when describing cheese. Sharp, sour and acid all describe the taste of a lemon or a fruit that is not ready to eat. An acrid smell is strong and unpleasant, especially the smell of smoke or burning, but not the smell of food.Patterns
- a(n) bitter/pungent/sour/acrid/sharp/acid taste/flavour
- a(n) bitter/pungent/acrid/sharp/acid smell/odour
- a(n) bitter/sour/sharp/acid fruit
- pungent/sharp cheese
- pungent/acrid smoke
Extra Examples
- The milk smelled sour.
- He smelled a sour whiff on the old man's breath.
- She smelled the slightly sour smell of beer on his breath.
- The milk had turned sour.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- smell
- taste
- …
adverb
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
phrases
- leave a sour taste in somebody’s mouth
See full entry
(of people) not cheerful; unfriendly and unpleasant
- She was a sour and disillusioned old woman.
- a sour face
- The meeting ended on a sour note with several people walking out.
- The whole experience has really left a sour taste in my mouth.

Word OriginOld English sūr, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zuur and German sauer.

Idioms

go/turn sour

to stop being pleasant or working properly
- Their relationship soon went sour.
Extra Examples
- Their friendship has turned a little sour.
- Their relationship quickly turned sour.
- As time went by the marriage turned sour.

sour grapes

(saying) used to show that you think somebody is jealous and is pretending that something is not important
- He said he didn't want the job anyway, but that's just sour grapes.

sour

verb

/ˈsaʊə(r)/

/ˈsaʊər/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they sour	/ˈsaʊə(r)/ /ˈsaʊər/
he / she / it sours	/ˈsaʊəz/ /ˈsaʊərz/
past simple soured	/ˈsaʊəd/ /ˈsaʊərd/
past participle soured	/ˈsaʊəd/ /ˈsaʊərd/
-ing form souring	/ˈsaʊərɪŋ/ /ˈsaʊərɪŋ/

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[intransitive, transitive] (of relationships, attitudes, people, etc.) to change so that they become less pleasant or friendly than before; to make something do this
- The atmosphere at the house soured.
- sour something The disagreement over trade tariffs has soured relations between the two countries.
Extra Examples
- During rehearsals his tantrums soured the atmosphere.
- The joy over the win was soured by an injury to the captain.
- They were middle-aged men soured by failure.
[intransitive, transitive] sour (something) if milk sours or if something sours it, it becomes sour and has an unpleasant taste or smell

Word OriginOld English sūr, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zuur and German sauer.