sore

[sawr, sohr]

adjective

sorer, sorest 

1. physically painful or sensitive, as a wound, hurt, or diseased part.

   a sore arm.

   Synonyms: tender

2. suffering bodily pain from wounds, bruises, etc..

   He is sore because of all that exercise.

3. suffering mental pain; grieved, distressed, or sorrowful.

   to be sore at heart.

   Synonyms: vexed, pained, hurt, hurt, aggrieved

4. causing great mental pain, distress, or sorrow.

   a sore bereavement.

   Synonyms: grievous, depressing, painful

5. causing very great suffering, misery, hardship, etc..

   sore need.

6. Informal.,  annoyed; irritated; offended; angered.

   He was sore because he had to wait.

7. causing annoyance or irritation.

   a sore subject.

noun

1. a sore spot or place on the body.

   Synonyms: wound, ulcer, abscess, inflammation

2. a source or cause of grief, distress, irritation, etc.

adverb

1. Archaic.,  sorely.

sore

/ sɔː /

adjective

1. (esp of a wound, injury, etc) painfully sensitive; tender

2. causing annoyance

   a sore point

3. resentful; irked

   he was sore that nobody believed him

4. urgent; pressing

   in sore need

5. (postpositive) grieved; distressed

6. causing grief or sorrow

noun

1. a painful or sensitive wound, injury, etc

2. any cause of distress or vexation

adverb

1. archaic,  direly; sorely (now only in such phrases as sore pressed, sore afraid )

Other Word Forms

• soreness noun
• unsore adjective
• unsorely adverb
• unsoreness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of sore¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English (adjective, noun, and adverb); Old English sār; cognate with Dutch zeer, German sehr, Old Norse sārr

Word History and Origins

Origin of sore¹

Old English sār; related to Old Norse sārr, Old High German sēr, Gothic sair sore, Latin saevus angry

Idioms and Phrases

• sight for sore eyes
• stick out (like a sore thumb)

Example Sentences

He woke up in his unit sore with his pants hanging by his knees, bleeding.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"I enjoyed the movie, but the price was a sore point," he said.

Read more on BBC

A sore spot in the third-quarter report was the company’s nutrition business, which sells the hydration drink Pedialyte, the adult therapeutic nutrition drink Ensure, and the infant formula brand Similac, among other products.

Read more on Barron's

For officials of the old guard, their inability to return a single young citizen kidnapped while chasing opportunities abroad he couldn’t find at home would become a sore point and symbol of an elite’s failures.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"We're disappointed and it's a sore loss," O'Neill, who was taking charge of his 100th game, said after the defeat.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• aching 
• bruised www.thesaurus.com
• hurting www.thesaurus.com
• inflamed www.thesaurus.com
• painful 
• sharp 
• tender 
• uncomfortable