sour
sour — adjective
1. a quality of food or drink that gives a sharp, tight feeling on your tongue, lik
a quality of food or drink that gives a sharp, tight feeling on your tongue, like the taste you get from a lemon or from vinegar — the opposite of sweet.
The lemonade was too sour for Nia, so she added a spoonful of sugar.
These pickles have a pleasant sour flavour that goes well with grilled fish.
collocation: sour flavour
Christopher bit into the green apple and winced at its sour taste.
The chef described the sauce as pleasantly sour, with hints of lime.
- sweet
the taste that is the opposite of sour, like sugar or honey
用法筆記
Often paired with 'sweet' as an opposite: 'sweet and sour' is a common pairing in cooking.
常見錯誤
2. describes a person who is unfriendly, easily annoyed, or always in a bad mood.
describes a person who is unfriendly, easily annoyed, or always in a bad mood.
After losing his job, Stefan became sour and stopped talking to his friends.
Tara gave a sour look when her brother interrupted her favourite programme.
phrase: a sour look
The old man's sour expression made the children too nervous to ask for help.
Jude's sour mood ruined the dinner party, even though everyone tried to cheer him.
- cheerful
happy and positive
- good-natured
friendly and kind by nature
常見錯誤
3. describes food or drink that, due to age or lack of proper storage, develops a s
describes food or drink that, due to age or lack of proper storage, develops a sharp, stale flavour and a bad smell — for example, milk kept past its use-by date.
Heather poured the sour milk down the sink and opened a fresh carton.
collocation: sour milk
The bread had a sour smell, so Constanza threw it in the bin.
Ife sniffed the yoghurt and realised it had turned sour after a week.
The kitchen smelled of sour fruit that no one had remembered to throw away.
- fresh
newly produced or picked, not spoiled
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 (ACIDIC TASTE): sense 1 describes a natural sharp taste in fresh food; sense 3 describes an unwanted change caused by spoilage.
常見錯誤
sour — verb
1. to change from being fresh and pleasant-tasting to having a sharp or acidic flav
to change from being fresh and pleasant-tasting to having a sharp or acidic flavour, usually because of age, heat, or the addition of an acid; or to deliberately cause such a change.
The cream soured after it was left out of the fridge all afternoon.
intransitive: of dairy spoiling naturally
Hot weather can sour milk quickly, so keep it refrigerated if you can.
Yan soured the wine by adding lemon juice to make a salad dressing.
If you leave the fruit salad outside, it will sour in the summer heat.
- sweeten
to make sweet, the opposite process
文法句型
sour (something)
something sours
用法筆記
The intransitive use (milk soured) is more common in everyday speech. The transitive use (sourced the cream) is less frequent and often describes a deliberate cooking step.
常見錯誤
2. when a relationship, a situation, or someone's mood grows worse and turns unfrie
when a relationship, a situation, or someone's mood grows worse and turns unfriendly or hostile over a period of time; or to make this happen.
Years of broken promises soured the friendship between Tamar and Pim.
transitive: something sours a relationship
The bitter argument soured Élise's opinion of her colleague for good.
The long dispute soured relations between the two neighbouring countries.
The pair's business partnership soured after the disagreement about company shares.
- deteriorate
formal; applies to relationships, conditions, or situations
- strain
damage slightly or put under pressure; less strong than sour
- embitter
make someone feel angry and unhappy over time; person-focused
文法句型
something sours
sour something
用法筆記
Distinguish from adjective sense 2 (BAD-TEMPERED): the verb describes a change that happens over time, while the adjective describes an existing state. Subject is typically an abstract noun like relationship, mood, atmosphere, or opinion.
sour — noun
1. a chilled cocktail prepared by shaking a liquor — typically whiskey or gin — tog
a chilled cocktail prepared by shaking a liquor — typically whiskey or gin — together with citrus fruit juice and a sweetener, then served over ice.
Christopher ordered a whiskey sour at the bar to celebrate his promotion.
common type: whiskey sour
The bartender made a delicious sour using fresh lime juice and gin.
Heather prefers a sour over other cocktails because it is not too sweet.
Lotte ordered a gin sour because she wanted something refreshing and not too strong.
2. the taste that something has when it is sharp or acidic on the tongue — the basi
the taste that something has when it is sharp or acidic on the tongue — the basic taste sensation produced by lemons, vinegar, and similar acidic foods.
The sauce had a pleasant sour that balanced out its sweetness perfectly.
usage: the sour = the sour taste
Roya could detect a faint sour in the wine that suggested it was turning.
The chef added vinegar to give the dish a gentle sour without making it sharp.
The sour of the lemon was too strong for the dessert, so the cook added more sugar.
- sweetness
the quality of being sweet, opposite of sourness
用法筆記
This noun sense ('the sour') is less common in everyday conversation than the adjective form ('it tastes sour'). You are most likely to see it in food writing or wine tasting notes.