sour

sour

adjective

Definition of SOUR

1

causing or characterized by the one of the four basic taste sensations that is produced chiefly by acids <the sour candy made our mouths all wrinkly inside>

Synonyms acid, acidic, acidulous, sourish, tart, tartish, vinegary

Related Words dry, soured, unsweetened; pungent, sharp, tangy, zestful, zesty, zingy; astringent, puckery hyperacid

Near Antonyms sweet; bland, smooth; flat, flavorless, insipid, savorless, tasteless, zestless; dilute, thin, watery, weak

2

not giving pleasure to the mind or senses <you'll have to face up to the sour truth of the matter>

Synonyms bad, bitter, disagreeable, displeasing, distasteful, harsh, icky, nasty, rotten, sour, uncongenial, unlovely, unpalatable, unpleasing, unsavory, unwelcome, wicked, yucky (also yukky)

Related Words abhorrent, abominable, appalling, awful, beastly, bilious, disgusting, dreadful, foul, ghastly, gnarly [slang], god-awful, gross, hateful, hellish, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, invidious, loathsome, nauseating, nauseous, noisome, obnoxious, obscene, odious, offensive, repellent (also repellant), repugnant, repulsive, revolting, revulsive, scandalous, seamy, shocking, sick, sickening, ugly, unholy, vile, villainous; aggravating, annoying, galling, irritating, vexing; crappy [slang], cruddy, crummy (also crumby), lousy, miserable, sucky [slang], wretched

Near Antonyms delectable, delicious, delightful, dreamy, felicitous; amiable, charming, cheery, friendly, jolly, kindly, sweet

Antonyms agreeable, congenial, good, grateful, gratifying, nice, palatable, pleasant, pleasing, pleasurable, satisfying, welcome

3

falling short of a standard <things started off well, but now it's all gone sour>

Synonyms bastard, bush, bush-league, crummy (also crumby), deficient, dissatisfactory, ill, inferior, lame, lousy, off, paltry, poor, punk, sour, suboptimal, subpar, substandard, unacceptable, unsatisfactory, wack [slang], wanting, wretched, wrong

Related Words abysmal, atrocious, awful, bitchin' [slang], brutal, damnable, deplorable, detestable, disastrous, dreadful, execrable, gnarly [slang], horrendous, horrible, pathetic, stinky, sucky [slang], terrible, unspeakable; defective, faulty, flawed; egregious, flagrant, gross; bum, cheesy, coarse, common, crappy [slang], cut-rate, junky, lesser, low-grade, low-rent, mediocre, miserable, reprehensible, rotten, rubbishy, second-rate, shoddy, sleazy, trashy; abominable, odious, vile; useless, valueless, worthless; inadequate, insufficient, lacking, meager (or meagre), mean, miserly, niggardly, scanty, shabby, short, skimp, skimpy, spare, stingy; miscreant, scurrilous, villainous; counterfeit, fake, phony (also phoney), sham

Near Antonyms classic, classical; A1, bang-up, banner, boss [slang], capital, choice, crackerjack, dandy, divine, excellent, exceptional, fabulous, fine, first-class, first-rate, grand, great, groovy, heavenly, high-test, jim-dandy, keen, marvelous (or marvellous), mean, neat, nifty, noble, par excellence, perfect, premium, prime, sensational, slick, splendid, stellar, sterling, superb, superior, superlative, supernal, swell, terrific, tip-top, top, top-notch, unsurpassed, wonderful; better, exceptional, fancy, high-grade, special, sufficient; average, borderline, fair, mediocre, middling, minimal, so-so, unexceptional; suitable, useful, worthy; gratifying, satisfying

Antonyms acceptable, adequate, all right, decent, fine, OK (or okay), passable, respectable, satisfactory, standard, tolerable