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definitions

sore

[sawr, sohr]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sore ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, sor·er, sor·est.

noun

a sore spot or place on the body.
a source or cause of grief, distress, irritation, etc.

adverb

Archaic. sorely.

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RELATED WORDS

aching, inflamed, uncomfortable, tender, sharp, painful, hurting, bruised, resentful, acute, burning, sensitive, raw, annoying, smarting, extreme, pressing, upset, afflicted, burned

Origin of sore

before 900; Middle English (adj., noun, and adv.); Old English sār; cognate with Dutch zeer, German sehr, Old Norse sārr
Related formssore·ness, nounun·sore, adjectiveun·sore·ly, adverbun·sore·ness, noun

Synonyms for sore

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sore ON THESAURUS.COM
1. tender. 3. aggrieved, hurt, pained, vexed. 4. grievous, distressing, painful, depressing. 8. infection, abscess, ulcer, wound.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for sore

Contemporary Examples of sore

Historical Examples of sore

  • The horses are all very tired, and many of them have sore backs.

  • To consider these evils, to find their remedy, is the most sore necessity of our times.

  • Brother Mark of the Spicarium is sore smitten with a fever and could not come.

    The White Company

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • Evidently the Street and all that pertained was a sore subject.

    K

    Mary Roberts Rinehart

  • His mind refused to work out the problem; his side was so sore.

    Thoroughbreds

    W. A. Fraser

British Dictionary definitions for sore

sore

adjective

(esp of a wound, injury, etc) painfully sensitive; tender
causing annoyancea sore point
resentful; irkedhe was sore that nobody believed him
urgent; pressingin sore need
(postpositive) grieved; distressed
causing grief or sorrow

noun

a painful or sensitive wound, injury, etc
any cause of distress or vexation

adverb

archaic direly; sorely (now only in such phrases as sore pressed, sore afraid)
Derived Formssoreness, noun

Word Origin for sore

Old English sār; related to Old Norse sārr, Old High German sēr, Gothic sair sore, Latin saevus angry
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for sore
adj.

Old English sar "painful, grievous, aching, sad, wounding," influenced in meaning by Old Norse sarr "sore, wounded," from Proto-Germanic *saira- "suffering, sick, ill" (cf. Old Frisian sar "painful," Middle Dutch seer, Dutch zeer "sore, ache," Old High German ser "painful," Gothic sair "pain, sorrow, travail"), from PIE root *sai- (1) "suffering" (cf. Old Irish saeth "pain, sickness").

Adverbial use (e.g. sore afraid) is from Old English sare but has mostly died out (replaced by sorely), but remains the main meaning of German cognate sehr "very." Slang meaning "angry, irritated" is first recorded 1738.

n.

Old English sar "bodily pain or injury, wound; sickness, disease; state of pain or suffering," from root of sore (adj.). Now restricted to ulcers, boils, blisters. Cf. Old Saxon ser "pain, wound," Middle Dutch seer, Dutch zeer, Old High German ser, Old Norse sar, Gothic sair.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for sore

sore

[sôr]

n.

An open skin lesion, wound, or ulcer.

adj.

Painful to the touch; tender.
Related formssore′ness n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Idioms and Phrases with sore

sore

In addition to the idiom beginning with sore

  • sore point, a

also see:

  • sight for sore eyes
  • stick out (like a sore thumb)
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.