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on a sour note


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WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025
sour /saʊr, ˈsaʊɚ/USA pronunciation   adj., -er, -est, n. 
adj. 
  1. having an acid taste resembling that of vinegar;
    tart:Lemons taste sour.
  2. made into an acid or acidlike substance by fermentation;
    fermented:sour milk.
  3. resembling or suggesting something fermented:Some of the baby's clothes have a sour smell.
  4. distasteful or disagreeable;
    unpleasant:a few sour remarks.
  5. cross;
    easily annoyed;
    peevish:a sour expression on his face.
  6. Music and Danceoff-pitch;
    badly produced:a sour note.

n. [countable]
  1. Winea cocktail of whiskey and lime or lemon juice.

v. 
  1. to (cause to) become sour or rancid;
    spoil: [no object]The milk soured in a few hours.[+ object]Poor refrigeration will sour stored milk.
  2. to (cause to) become unpleasant or less friendly: [no object]Relations between us soured over the last few years.[+ object]The war soured our relations.
  3. to make or cause to become bitter, unhappy, etc.:[+ object (+ on + object)]All those rejections had soured him (on ever getting another job somewhere).
Idioms
    [Informal.]
  1. Idioms go sour, [no object] to become unsatisfactory;
    fail:Their marriage has gone sour.
  2. Idioms go sour on, [+ object] to become enemies with;
    turn against:went sour on his family.

sour•ish, adj. 
sour•ly, adv. 
sour•ness, n. [uncountable]

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025
sour  (souər, souər),USA pronunciation adj., -er, -est, n., v. 
adj. 
  1. having an acid taste, resembling that of vinegar, lemon juice, etc.;
    tart.
  2. rendered acid or affected by fermentation;
    fermented.
  3. Psychology, Physiologyproducing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is not bitter, salt, or sweet.
  4. characteristic of something fermented:a sour smell.
  5. distasteful or disagreeable;
    unpleasant.
  6. below standard;
    poor.
  7. harsh in spirit or temper;
    austere;
    morose;
    peevish.
  8. Agriculture(of soil) having excessive acidity.
  9. Chemistry(of gasoline or the like) contaminated by sulfur compounds.
  10. Music and Danceoff-pitch;
    badly produced:a sour note.

n. 
  1. something that is sour.
  2. Wineany of various cocktails consisting typically of whiskey or gin with lemon or lime juice and sugar and sometimes soda water, often garnished with a slice of orange, a maraschino cherry, or both.
  3. Chemistryan acid or an acidic substance used in laundering and bleaching to neutralize alkalis and to decompose residual soap or bleach.

v.i. 
  1. to become sour, rancid, mildewed, etc.;
    spoil:Milk sours quickly in warm weather. The laundry soured before it was ironed.
  2. to become unpleasant or strained;
    worsen;
    deteriorate:Relations between the two countries have soured.
  3. to become bitter, disillusioned, or disinterested:I guess I soured when I learned he was married. My loyalty soured after his last book.
  4. Agriculture(of soil) to develop excessive acidity.

v.t. 
  1. to make sour;
    cause sourness in:What do they use to sour the mash?
  2. to cause spoilage in;
    rot:Defective cartons soured the apples.
  3. to make bitter, disillusioned, or disagreeable:One misadventure needn't have soured him. That swindle soured a great many potential investors.
  • bef. 1000; (adjective, adjectival and noun, nominal) Middle English sure, soure, Old English sūr (origin, originally adjective, adjectival); cognate with German sauer, Dutch zuur, Old Norse sūrr; (verb, verbal) Middle English souren, derivative of the adjective, adjectival
sourish, adj. 
sourly, adv. 
sourness, n. 
    • 5.See corresponding entry in Unabridged bitter.
    • 7.See corresponding entry in Unabridged severe, testy, touchy, acrimonious, cross, petulant, crabbed.
    • 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged sweet.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
sour / ˈsaʊə/
  1. having or denoting a sharp biting taste like that of lemon juice or vinegar
    Compare bitter1
  2. made acid or bad, as in the case of milk or alcohol, by the action of microorganisms
  3. having a rancid or unwholesome smell
  4. (of a person's temperament) sullen, morose, or disagreeable
  5. (esp of the weather or climate) harsh and unpleasant
  6. disagreeable; distasteful: a sour experience
  7. (of land, etc) lacking in fertility, esp due to excessive acidity
  8. (of oil, gas, or petrol) containing a relatively large amount of sulphur compounds
  9. go sour, turn sour to become unfavourable or inharmonious: his marriage went sour
  1. something sour
  2. any of several iced drinks usually made with spirits, lemon juice, and ice: a whiskey sour
  3. an acid used in laundering and bleaching clothes or in curing animal skins
  1. to make or become sour
Etymology: Old English sūr; related to Old Norse sūrr, Lithuanian suras salty, Old Slavonic syrŭ wet, raw, surovu green, raw, Sanskrit surā brandyˈsourishˈsourishlyˈsourlyˈsourness
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Sour / sʊə/
  1. a variant spelling of Sur
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
Sur, Sour / sʊə/
  1. transliteration of the Arabic name for Tyre

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