sour´ness

sour´ness: sour «sowr», adjective, verb, noun, adverb.

–adj.

1. having a taste like that of vinegar or lemon juice; sharp and biting: »Most green fruit is sour.
SYNONYM(S): acid, acidulous, tart.

2. fermented; acid as a result of fermentation; spoiled. Sour milk is healthful, but most foods are not good to eat when they have become sour. SYNONYM(S): rancid, curdled.

3. having a foul or rank smell: »sour breath, a sour medicine.

4. Figurative. a) disagreeable, bad-tempered, or peevish: »a sour face, a sour remark. Sour to them that loved him not; but to those men that sought him, sweet as summer (Shakespeare).
b) dull; flat; stale: »The TV joke that may turn sour (Observer).

5. unusually acid: »sour soil.

6. cold and wet; damp: »sour weather.

7. possessing contaminating amounts of sulfur: »sour gasoline.

–v.i., v.t.

to become or make sour; turn sour: »The milk soured while it stood in the hot sun.Figurative. Such suffering would probably have soured the kindest temper (William Godwin).

–n.

1. something sour, distasteful, or disagreeable: »the sweets we wish for, turn to loathed sours (Shakespeare).

2. U.S. a sour alcoholic drink, such as whiskey and lemon juice: »a whiskey sour.

3. a mildly acid bath or steep, used in bleaching, and dyeing.

–adv.

in a sour manner: »Figurative. to look sour.
SYNONYM(S): disagreeably, crossly.

╂[Old English sūr]

–sour´ly, adverb.

–sour´ness, noun.

Synonym Study adjective.4 Sour, tart, acid, used figuratively to describe a person, or his looks, disposition, words, manner of expression, or the like, mean having a quality of harshness or sharpness. Sour suggests bad temper, surly rudeness, grouchiness, or sullenness: »a sour disposition.
Tart suggests sharp and stinging qualities: »Her tart answer showed her slight irritation.
Acid suggests biting, sarcastic, severely critical qualities: »I read an acid comment on the acting in our school play.

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sour´ly — sour «sowr», adjective, verb, noun, adverb. –adj. 1. having a taste like that of vinegar or lemon juice; sharp and biting: »Most green fruit is sour. SYNONYM(S): acid, acidulous, tart. 2. fermented; acid as a result of fermentation; spoiled. Sour … Useful english dictionary
ness — ness·ber·ry; ness·ler·iza·tion; ness·ler·ize; ness·ler s; new·fan·gled·ness; new·ness; news·i·ness; nice·ness; nig·gard·li·ness; nig·gard·ness; nigh·ness; nip·pi·ness; no·ble·ness; nois·i·ness; non·cha·lant·ness; north·er·li·ness; north·ness;… … English syllables
sour — sour; sour·berry; sour·dine; sour·i·quois; sour·ish; sour·ly; sour·ness; sour·sob; vav·a·sour; … English syllables
sour — sau̇(ə)r adj causing, characterized by, or being the one of the four basic taste sensations that is produced chiefly by acids compare BITTER, SALT (2), SWEET sour·ness … Medical dictionary
sour — [[t]saʊər, ˈsaʊ ər[/t]] adj. sour•er, sour•est, n. v. 1) having an acid taste resembling that of vinegar or lemon juice; tart 2) rendered acid or affected by fermentation; fermented 3) psl phl producing the one of the four basic taste sensations… … From formal English to slang
ac´id|ness — ac|id «AS ihd», noun, adjective. –n. 1. a) a chemical compound with a sour or bitter taste that usually unites with a base to form a salt. Acids have a pH value of less than 7. They change blue litmus paper to red and yield hydrogen ions in a… … Useful english dictionary
tart´ness — tart1 «tahrt», adjective, verb. –adj. 1. having a sharp taste; biting, acid, or sour: »tart plums. Some apples are tart. 2. Figurative. sharp; irritable or biting; mildly cutting or sarcastic: »Her reply was too tart to be polite. A Federal judge … Useful english dictionary
dour glowering glum moody morose saturnine sour sullen — Ill natured Ill na tured, a. 1. Of habitual bad temper; having an unpleasant disposition; surly; disagreeable; cross; peevish; fractious; crabbed; of people; as, an ill natured person; an ill natured disagreeable old man. Opposite of {good… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
a|cid´u|lous|ness — a|cid|u|lous «uh SIHJ uh luhs», adjective. 1. slightly acid or sour. 2. Figurative. caustic; harsh: »It is beautiful, therefore…to find a woman, George Eliot, departing utterly out of that mood of hate or even of acidulous satire in which… … Useful english dictionary
aus|tere´ness — aus|tere « STIHR», adjective. 1. stern in manner or appearance; harsh: »Grandfather was a silent, austere man, very strict with his children. SYNONYM(S): severe. 2. strict in morals; severe in self discipline: »Some of the ideas of the Puritans… … Useful english dictionary

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sour´ness

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