Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The state or quality of being sour, in any sense.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The quality or state of being sour.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The quality or condition of being sour, usually said of human personalities.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a sullen moody resentful disposition
  • noun the taste experience when vinegar or lemon juice is taken into the mouth
  • noun the property of being acidic

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

sour +‎ -ness

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Examples

  • The idea is to flavor the liquid well with the spices and extract all the sourness from the kokum.

    Archive 2006-01-01 Nupur 2006

  • This is a brine pickle made without vinegar; the sourness comes from the fermentation process, as is traditional.

    Toast: Lindy 2005

  • This is a brine pickle made without vinegar; the sourness comes from the fermentation process, as is traditional.

    Green Tomato Finale Lindy 2005

  • Whenever I experience this, whenever a laconic sourness is thrust into my spirit, I close my eyes and seek for something inside me that can anchor me against the unpleasant wave that threatens to engulf me, cap-a-pie.

    notes from the peanut gallery Dean Francis Alfar 2003

  • Whenever I experience this, whenever a laconic sourness is thrust into my spirit, I close my eyes and seek for something inside me that can anchor me against the unpleasant wave that threatens to engulf me, cap-a-pie.

    Archive 2003-03-01 Dean Francis Alfar 2003

  • "Approaching, I perceive the peculiar scent which belongs to such places, a certain sourness in the air, suggesting trodden grass and cigar smoke."

    Janey Canuck in the West Emily Ferguson 1910

  • The sourness is similar to lemons, but more complex; pomegranate molasses includes floral flavors that most citrus fruits don’t have.

    Archive 2008-01-01 Laurie Constantino 2008

  • The sourness is similar to lemons, but more complex; pomegranate molasses includes floral flavors that most citrus fruits don’t have.

    Ingredient: Pomegranate Molasses with Recipes for Pomegranate-Olive Jam, Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail, and Pomegranate Aperitif Laurie Constantino 2008

  • Because it contained some peculiar quality which Shakespeare calls sourness, the sheep would not eat the grass of the rings.

    Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 8 Charles Herbert Sylvester

  • Imperial Cold pack cheddar is very sharp without the "sourness" many of older cheddars seem to take on.

    Cheese balls and Aunt Betty | Homesick Texan Homesick Texan 2008

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