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sour grapes
plural noun
: disparagement of something that has proven unattainable
his criticisms are just sour grapes
Examples of sour grapes in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
OpenAI argues that Musk’s lawsuit, as well as his embrace of open source development for AI, is little more than a case of sour grapes after leaving the company.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 1 Dec. 2024
So this could all be sour grapes or an effort to gain a competitive edge, but the courts will have to decide that.
—Will McCurdy, PCMAG, 1 Dec. 2024
And listen, the government has a select few people who have some type of sour grapes about things that went on, really in their own lives, frankly.
—Chloe Melas, NBC News, 13 Nov. 2024
There’s no trace of the Hepburn-Streisand sour grapes saga.
—Tonya Blazio-Licorish, WWD, 27 Sep. 2024
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Word History
Etymology
from the fable ascribed to Aesop of the fox who after finding himself unable to reach some grapes he had desired disparaged them as sour
First Known Use
1760, in the meaning defined above
Articles Related to sour grapes
Dictionary Entries Near sour grapes
Cite this Entry
“Sour grapes.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sour%20grapes. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
Kids Definition
sour grapes
plural noun
: the act of making something seem unimportant after it becomes impossible to gain
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for sour grapes
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