sore

[ sawr, sohr ]

/ sɔr, soʊr /

adjective, sor·er, sor·est.

physically painful or sensitive, as a wound, hurt, or diseased part: a sore arm.

suffering bodily pain from wounds, bruises, etc., as a person: 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.

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.

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

adverb

Archaic. sorely.

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Origin of sore

before 900; Middle English (adj., noun, and adv.); Old English sār; cognate with Dutch zeer, German sehr, Old Norse sārr

SYNONYMS FOR sore

1 tender.

3 aggrieved, hurt, pained, vexed.

4 grievous, distressing, painful, depressing.

8 infection, abscess, ulcer, wound.

OTHER WORDS FROM sore

sore·ness, nounun·sore, adjectiveun·sore·ly, adverbun·sore·ness, noun

Words nearby sore

sord, sordello, sordes, sordid, sordino, sore, sore point, a, sore shin, sore throat, soredial, soredium

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for sorer

It was a sore job to get the corpse on board, and a sorer yet to bring it p. 36home before the rolling seas.
The Waif Woman|Robert Louis Stevenson
Boris is sorer than a boiled owl at being run on the rocks by a girl.
El Diablo|Brayton Norton
Good Mr. Rose's feet became sorer and sorer each succeeding day; Mr. S. at length nearly gave up; my son had grown brisker.
Audubon and his Journals, Vol. 2|Maria R. Audubon
With a sorer heart than ever, he flung the papers from him and went out to gather strength in the open air.
The Chief Legatee|Anna Katharine Green

This was worse than a thousand whippings, and Tom's heart was sorer now than his body.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Complete|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

British Dictionary definitions for sorer

sore

/ (sɔː) /

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 forms of sore

soreness, 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

Medical definitions for sorer

sore

[ sôr ]

n.

An open skin lesion, wound, or ulcer.

adj.

Painful to the touch; tender.

Other words from sore

sore′ness n.

Idioms and Phrases with sorer

sore

In addition to the idiom beginning with sore

sore point, a

also see:

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

sore

adjective, sor·er, sor·est.

noun

adverb

QUIZZES

Origin of sore

SYNONYMS FOR sore

OTHER WORDS FROM sore

Words nearby sore

Words related to sorer

Example sentences from the Web for sorer

British Dictionary definitions for sorer

adjective

noun

adverb

Derived forms of sore

Word Origin for sore

Medical definitions for sorer

n.

adj.

Other words from sore

Idioms and Phrases with sorer