sour
10
1.0
- adjective
- /saʊər/
:
agrio
- Mrs. Baum intently listens to their buzzing and watches the clouds of white, sour-smelling steam sliding down the brewery roof.
- a sour smell
Examples
-
After a time, he could smell wood smoke and the sour smell of homemade whiskey.
Fiction book (2001) -
Soft light seeped out, and there was that sour smell again, accompanied by strands.
Fiction book (1997) -
The familiar smell of him since babyhood is slightly sour, slightly heavy, thrilling, and comforting.
Fiction book (1996) -
A peculiar odor emerged from the cabinet, sharp and sour and unpleasant.
Fiction book (2001) -
Behind her, I smelled the old plaster and the sour dust that comes from carpenter ants eating the sills.
Fiction book (1997) -
The air stank of stale cigarettes, damp wood, and sour bamboo matting.
Fiction book (1997) -
A puff of fetid air pulsed out, and I waited upwind for the sour odor to dissipate.
Fiction book (1999) -
The milk had gone bad and carried a distinctly sour odor that made me gag.
-
After the storm, the air was filled with a sour smell of damp leaves and decay.
-
The bathroom reeked of the sour scent of mildew, reminding me that it needed cleaning.
Synonyms
118
1.0
Giving off a strong, unpleasant stink
60
1.0
Having a very bad smell
20
4.5
A bad, sharp smell or taste from spoiled oil
7
4.1
A very strong stink that makes you want to move away
1
8.5
Having a strong smell that is often unpleasant
1
6.5
Something that smells or tastes bad
1
4.4
That has a strong, unpleasant odor
1
3.8
Having a bad smell that people do not like
A taste or smell that is sharp and sour like vinegar
Having a sharp taste or smell like vinegar
Having a very strong unpleasant smell or taste
Having a very strong, unpleasant smell like rotten food
Antonyms
Idioms
Compounds
34
1.0
A thick white food made from milk with a slightly sour taste used as a topping or in cooking
- Specialized
2
7.4
A way of making whiskey using part of a previous batch to start the next one
- Specialized
1
7.2
People add some mash from an earlier batch when making whiskey to keep the same flavor
1
5.0
A tree that makes bitter oranges used as root for other orange trees and for marmalade
Bread made with a mixture of flour and water that has natural yeast, giving a tangy taste
- US
A tree that loses its leaves in autumn and has bright red leaves and small blue berries
- South African
A low plant from South Africa with thick leaves that makes small edible fruit
- Specialized
A group of related trees that make flowers and fruit, like the sour gum tree
How Smelly
Surface Forms
Etymology
Sour (smell) comes from Old English sūr meaning 'acid' or 'sharp', so a 'sour' smell is one that is strong and unpleasant, like something that has begun to go bad.