sour

adjective

/ˈsaʊə(r)/

/ˈsaʊər/

Idioms

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having a taste like that of a lemon or of fruit that is not ready to eat酸的；有酸味的
- sour apples酸苹果
- a sour flavour酸味
opposite sweet
Synonyms bitter
bitter
- pungent
- sour
- acrid
- sharp
- acid
These words all describe a strong, unpleasant taste or smell.
- bitter (of a taste or smell) strong and usually unpleasant; (of food or drink) having a bitter taste.指（味道或气味）强烈的、令人不适的，（食物或饮料）味苦的
- pungent (of a smell or taste) strong and usually unpleasant; (of food or smoke) having a pungent smell or taste:
  the pungent smell of burning rubber烧橡胶的刺鼻气味
- sour (of a taste) bitter like the taste of a lemon or of fruit that is not ready to eat; (of food or drink) having a sour taste:
  Too much pulp produces a sour wine.过多的果肉会让酒变酸。
- acrid (of a smell or taste) strong and unpleasant; (of smoke) having an acrid smell:
  acrid smoke from burning tyres燃烧轮胎产生的熏烟
- sharp (of a taste or smell) strong and slightly bitter; (of food or drink) having a sharp taste:
  The cheese has a distinctively sharp taste.这奶酪味道很冲。
- acid (of a taste or smell) bitter, like the taste of a lemon or of fruit that is not ready to eat; (of food or drink) having an acid taste.
which word?A bitter taste is usually unpleasant, but some people enjoy the bitter taste of coffee or chocolate. No other word can describe this taste. A sharp or pungent taste is more strong than unpleasant, especially when describing cheese. Sharp, sour and acid all describe the taste of a lemon or a fruit that is not ready to eat. An acrid smell is strong and unpleasant, especially the smell of smoke or burning, but not the smell of food.Patterns
- a(n) bitter/pungent/sour/acrid/sharp/acid taste/flavour
- a(n) bitter/pungent/acrid/sharp/acid smell/odour
- a(n) bitter/sour/sharp/acid fruit
- pungent/sharp cheese
- pungent/acrid smoke
Wordfinder
- bitter
- bland
- hot
- pungent
- savoury
- sour
- spicy
- sweet
- tart
- taste
see also sweet-and-sour
Extra Examples
- The sauce tasted very sour.这酱尝起来很酸。
- Chinese sweet-and-sour pork中式糖醋猪肉
- Too much pulp produces a sour wine.过多的果肉会让酒变酸。
Topics Cooking and eatingb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- smell
- taste
- …
adverb
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
phrases
- leave a sour taste in somebody’s mouth
See full entry
(especially of milk尤指牛奶) having an unpleasant taste or smell because it is not fresh酸腐的；馊的
- to turn/go sour馊了
- a sour smell馊味。
Synonyms bitter
bitter
- pungent
- sour
- acrid
- sharp
- acid
These words all describe a strong, unpleasant taste or smell.
- bitter (of a taste or smell) strong and usually unpleasant; (of food or drink) having a bitter taste.指（味道或气味）强烈的、令人不适的，（食物或饮料）味苦的
- pungent (of a smell or taste) strong and usually unpleasant; (of food or smoke) having a pungent smell or taste:
  the pungent smell of burning rubber烧橡胶的刺鼻气味
- sour (of a taste) bitter like the taste of a lemon or of fruit that is not ready to eat; (of food or drink) having a sour taste:
  Too much pulp produces a sour wine.过多的果肉会让酒变酸。
- acrid (of a smell or taste) strong and unpleasant; (of smoke) having an acrid smell:
  acrid smoke from burning tyres燃烧轮胎产生的熏烟
- sharp (of a taste or smell) strong and slightly bitter; (of food or drink) having a sharp taste:
  The cheese has a distinctively sharp taste.这奶酪味道很冲。
- acid (of a taste or smell) bitter, like the taste of a lemon or of fruit that is not ready to eat; (of food or drink) having an acid taste.
which word?A bitter taste is usually unpleasant, but some people enjoy the bitter taste of coffee or chocolate. No other word can describe this taste. A sharp or pungent taste is more strong than unpleasant, especially when describing cheese. Sharp, sour and acid all describe the taste of a lemon or a fruit that is not ready to eat. An acrid smell is strong and unpleasant, especially the smell of smoke or burning, but not the smell of food.Patterns
- a(n) bitter/pungent/sour/acrid/sharp/acid taste/flavour
- a(n) bitter/pungent/acrid/sharp/acid smell/odour
- a(n) bitter/sour/sharp/acid fruit
- pungent/sharp cheese
- pungent/acrid smoke
Extra Examples
- The milk smelled sour.这奶闻着酸了。
- He smelled a sour whiff on the old man's breath.他闻到那老人呼吸中有股臭味儿。
- She smelled the slightly sour smell of beer on his breath.她闻到了他呼吸中略带酸味的啤酒味。
- The milk had turned sour.牛奶已经馊了。
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
verbs
- be
- smell
- taste
- …
adverb
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
phrases
- leave a sour taste in somebody’s mouth
See full entry
(of people人) not cheerful; unfriendly and unpleasant阴郁的；闷闷不乐的；没好气的
- She was a sour and disillusioned old woman.她是一个心灰意冷、幻想破灭的老女人。
- a sour face阴郁的脸色
- The meeting ended on a sour note with several people walking out.几个人退席，会议不欢而散。
- The whole experience has really left a sour taste in my mouth.这次经历给我留下酸涩的回味。

Word OriginOld English sūr, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zuur and German sauer.

Idioms

go/turn sour

to stop being pleasant or working properly变坏；恶化；出毛病
- Their relationship soon went sour.他们的关系很快有了嫌隙。
Extra Examples
- Their friendship has turned a little sour.他们的友谊出了点儿问题。
- Their relationship quickly turned sour.他们的关系很快有了嫌隙。
- As time went by the marriage turned sour.时日推移，这桩婚姻逐渐产生问题。

sour grapes

(saying) used to show that you think somebody is jealous and is pretending that something is not important酸葡萄（表示某人表面贬低某事物，实则是嫉妒）
- He said he didn't want the job anyway, but that's just sour grapes.他说他其实并不想干这份工作，这不过是吃不着葡萄就说葡萄酸而已。

sour

verb

/ˈsaʊə(r)/

/ˈsaʊər/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they sour	/ˈsaʊə(r)/ /ˈsaʊər/
he / she / it sours	/ˈsaʊəz/ /ˈsaʊərz/
past simple soured	/ˈsaʊəd/ /ˈsaʊərd/
past participle soured	/ˈsaʊəd/ /ˈsaʊərd/
-ing form souring	/ˈsaʊərɪŋ/ /ˈsaʊərɪŋ/

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[intransitive, transitive] (of relationships, attitudes, people, etc.关系、态度、人等) to change so that they become less pleasant or friendly than before; to make something do this（使）变坏，恶化
- The atmosphere at the house soured.屋子里的气氛不对了。
- sour something The disagreement over trade tariffs has soured relations between the two countries.贸易关税上的分歧导致两国关系恶化。
Extra Examples
- During rehearsals his tantrums soured the atmosphere.在排练期间，他发脾气破坏了气氛。
- The joy over the win was soured by an injury to the captain.队长受伤使胜利的喜悦变得更糟。
- They were middle-aged men soured by failure.他们是因失败而变坏的中年人。
[intransitive, transitive] sour (something) if milk sours or if something sours it, it becomes sour and has an unpleasant taste or smell（牛奶等）变味，酸腐；使变酸腐