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sour

sour

50 1.0
Having gone bad and tasting unpleasant
  • adjective
  • /saʊər/
translation icon : agriado
  • After school, I ate some sour milk with old pieces of dried bread.
  • turn sour
  • sour milk

And when we come back, we have some of the best voicemails I've ever heard and also a nice treat that could turn sour.

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Examples

Synonyms

bad
vssour
287 1.0

Spoiled and not safe to eat

means specifically an acidic change caused by fermentation, not just unsafe food
rotten
vssour
160 1.0

Very bad and unpleasant to experience

is about a specific acidic spoilage smell rather than general poor quality
rancid
vssour
20 4.5

A bad, sharp smell or taste from spoiled oil

is any acid taste from fermentation rather than chemical spoilage of fats
off
vssour
  • UK
1 2.7

No longer fresh and unpleasant to eat

describes an acid taste from fermentation rather than general staleness
vinegary
vssour
1 5.9

Having a sharp, sour taste or smell

is the same acidic quality when caused by fermentation rather than flavor style
turned
vssour
6.0

Food or drink that has gone bad

focuses on change into acidity caused by fermentation rather than simple spoilage

Antonyms

778 1.0

Recently made or gathered food that is not spoiled

Idioms

sour grapes
  • Informal
9 6.1

Saying something is not good because you cannot have it

Compounds

34 1.0

A thick white food made from milk with a slightly sour taste used as a topping or in cooking

5 5.0

A drink made with whiskey, lemon juice, and sugar served over ice

4 1.8

Milk that has gone bad and smells and tastes unpleasant

sour mash
  • Specialized
2 7.4

A way of making whiskey using part of a previous batch to start the next one

1 2.9

A small red fruit that tastes sour and is used for cooking or baking

sour mash whiskey
  • Specialized
1 7.2

People add some mash from an earlier batch when making whiskey to keep the same flavor

1 3.6

A deep red colour like the skin of ripe tart fruit

1 5.0

A tree that makes bitter oranges used as root for other orange trees and for marmalade

1 3.7

A very tart orange used in cooking and for making marmalade

Bread made with a mixture of flour and water that has natural yeast, giving a tangy taste

A small tree that makes tart red cherries often used in cooking and jam

sour gourd
  • Australian
9.9

A tree that has sour fruit often used in cooking

A small plant like clover with a sour taste that people eat as a green

8.4

A tree that loses its leaves in autumn and has bright red leaves and small blue berries

8.6

A plant with large sour leaves used in salads and spring greens

sour fig
  • South African
9.2

A low plant from South Africa with thick leaves that makes small edible fruit

sour gourd
  • Australian
8.9

A sour edible fruit with hard skin used in cooking

4.8

Small white crystals that you add to food to make it taste sour

A liking for sour foods

sour-gum family
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of related trees that make flowers and fruit, like the sour gum tree

Tasting sharp and like lemon or vinegar

How Spoiled

putrid
12 7.0
rotten
160 1.0
sour
50 1.0
off
  • UK
1 2.7
stale
54 1.1
fresh
778 1.0

Surface Forms

sour positive
sourer comparative
sourest superlative

Etymology

Sour (turned bad) came to mean 'gone bad' because when milk or fruit goes bad it often becomes sharp and unpleasant; the word traces back to Old English sūr meaning 'acid' or 'sharp', which explains the spoiled sense.