Meanings
plural sournesses
- countableuncountableThe condition or quality of being sour.
Mrs. Ferrars was a little, thin woman, upright, even to formality, in her figure, and serious, even to sourness, in her aspect.
1811, [Jane Austen], chapter XII, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume II, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 2261 more example
[O]ur Tympanouſe ſtatiſts / (In their affected grauitie of voice, / Sovverneſſe of countenance, maners crueltie, / Authoritie, vvealth, and all the ſpavvne of Fortune) / Thinke they beare all the kingdomes vvorth before them; […]
1603–1604 (date written), [George Chapman], Bussy D’Ambois: A Tragedie: […], London: […] [Eliot’s Court Press] for William Aspley, published 1607, →OCLC, Act I, page 1Synonyms: acerbitude, acerbity, acetosity, acidity, acidness, austereness, austerity, sharpness
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe condition or quality of being sour.
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe taste experience when vinegar or lemon juice is taken into the mouth
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Old Englishsūrnes“sourness”
- Middle Englishsowrenesse
- Englishsourness
From Middle English sowrenesse, sournesse, from Old English sūrnes (“sourness”), equivalent to sour + -ness.
More words from Middle English, Old English
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek στρυφνότης
- στρυφνότης (struphnótēs)condition or quality of being sour
Catalan agror, acidesa
- agrorcondition or quality of being sour
- acidesacondition or quality of being sour
Chinese Mandarin 酸味
- 酸味 (suānwèi)condition or quality of being sour
Dutch zerpte, zuurte
- zerptecondition or quality of being sour
- zuurtecondition or quality of being sour
Finnish happamuus
- happamuuscondition or quality of being sour
Greek αγουράδα, αγουρίλα
- αγουράδα (agouráda)condition or quality of being sour
- αγουρίλα (agouríla)condition or quality of being sour
- ξινίλα (xiníla)condition or quality of being sour
- δυστροπία (dystropía)of a person’s temperament
- στρυφνότητα (stryfnótita)of a person’s temperament
Hebrew חֲמִיצוּת
- חֲמִיצוּת (khamitsút)condition or quality of being sour
Korean 신맛, 산미
- 신맛 (sinmat)condition or quality of being sour
- 산미 (sanmi)condition or quality of being sour
Latin aciditas, acor
- aciditascondition or quality of being sour
- acorcondition or quality of being sour
Spanish acedía, acidez
- acedíacondition or quality of being sour
- acidezcondition or quality of being sour
- acidezof a person’s temperament
- acritudof a person’s temperament
Tagalog asim, kaasiman
- asimcondition or quality of being sour
- kaasimancondition or quality of being sour
- pagkaasimcondition or quality of being sour
Turkish ekşilik
- ekşilikcondition or quality of being sour
Cite this entry
sourness. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sourness
“sourness.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sourness. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sourness,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sourness.
Source: sourness on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.