sore
Americanadjective
-
physically painful or sensitive, as a wound, hurt, or diseased part.
a sore arm.
- Synonyms:
- tender
-
suffering bodily pain from wounds, bruises, etc..
He is sore because of all that exercise.
-
suffering mental pain; grieved, distressed, or sorrowful.
to be sore at heart.
-
causing great mental pain, distress, or sorrow.
a sore bereavement.
- Synonyms:
- grievous, depressing, painful
-
causing very great suffering, misery, hardship, etc..
sore need.
-
Informal. annoyed; irritated; offended; angered.
He was sore because he had to wait.
-
causing annoyance or irritation.
a sore subject.
noun
-
a sore spot or place on the body.
- Synonyms:
- wound, ulcer, abscess, inflammation
-
a source or cause of grief, distress, irritation, etc.
adverb
adjective
-
(esp of a wound, injury, etc) painfully sensitive; tender
-
causing annoyance
a sore point
-
resentful; irked
he was sore that nobody believed him
-
urgent; pressing
in sore need
-
(postpositive) grieved; distressed
-
causing grief or sorrow
noun
-
a painful or sensitive wound, injury, etc
-
any cause of distress or vexation
adverb
Other Word Forms
- soreness noun
- unsore adjective
- unsorely adverb
- unsoreness noun
Etymology
Origin of sore
First recorded before 900; Middle English (adjective, noun, and adverb); Old English sār; cognate with Dutch zeer, German sehr, Old Norse sārr
Explanation
A sore is a broken patch of skin — something you might put a bandage on — or it's something that gives you pain, like a sore throat, that’s red and scratchy and painful. You can have a sore and you can also be sore: if you've just ridden your bike over the Alps, you're probably pretty sore — achy and hurting all over. Maybe you've heard phrases like "Don't be sore at me, boss," from old gangster movies, meaning "don't be angry." A sore point or a sore subject is something you don't want to discuss, like the sensitive topic of your last history quiz, the one you slept through.
Vocabulary lists containing sore
Nothing But the Truth
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That Hurts! Synonyms for "Pain"
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"Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Jane regularly does digit “workouts” and complains her pointers are sore.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026
He believes that whatever Cohen may have bought “should stand out like a sore thumb” when the counterparty discloses its equity holdings in mid-May or discloses a 5% position in a company.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026
Women’s throats are sore, and their eyes are an unflattering shade of red.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026
"They were so kind and gave me a laptop when my wrist was too sore to write," she said.
From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026
The room’s completely light now, and my neck is sore from how I fell asleep.
From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
