What does "sweet-and-sour" mean?

Having both sweet and sour or tart taste.

What is a synonym for "sweet-and-sour"?

Common synonyms include: acidulcis, bittersweet.

Sweet-and-sour

adj

adj ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Adjective

1
Having both sweet and sour or tart taste.
2
Having both positive and negative traits, or inspiring conflicting good and bad feelings.
"Like an accordion at a country wedding producing sweet-and-sour notes, some importers are expanding their U.S. retail automotive operations while others are skinnying down."

Synonyms

All synonyms

acidulcis bittersweet

Example

More examples

"Like an accordion at a country wedding producing sweet-and-sour notes, some importers are expanding their U.S. retail automotive operations while others are skinnying down."

Related phrases

sweet-and-sour sauce

More for "sweet-and-sour"

Synonyms Sentences Pronunciation Translate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation Browse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.