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definitions

sore

[sawr, sohr]
adjective, sor·er, sor·est.
  1. physically painful or sensitive, as a wound, hurt, or diseased part: a sore arm.
  2. suffering bodily pain from wounds, bruises, etc., as a person: He is sore because of all that exercise.
  3. suffering mental pain; grieved, distressed, or sorrowful: to be sore at heart.
  4. causing great mental pain, distress, or sorrow: a sore bereavement.
  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.
  2. a source or cause of grief, distress, irritation, etc.
adverb
  1. Archaic. sorely.

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

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. 2018

Related Words for sorer

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

Examples from the Web for sorer

Historical Examples of sorer

  • And never can human brain have held a sorer conflict of reflection than was mine.

    The Strolling Saint

    Raphael Sabatini

  • The directors got sorer and sorer as Worth Gilbert's cheerfulness increased.

  • But it was a miserable business, and our hearts were sorer than our bodies.

    Kilgorman

    Talbot Baines Reed

  • And is not mine, my friend, a sorer case, When every coxcomb perks them in my face?

    Essay on Man

    Alexander Pope

  • I doubt you may have a sorer heart to carry about with you than you have kenned of yet.

    The Orphans of Glen Elder

    Margaret Murray Robertson

British Dictionary definitions for sorer

sore

adjective
  1. (esp of a wound, injury, etc) painfully sensitive; tender
  2. causing annoyancea sore point
  3. resentful; irkedhe was sore that nobody believed him
  4. urgent; pressingin 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)
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 sorer

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.

sore

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
sorer in Medicine

sore

[sôr]
n.
  1. An open skin lesion, wound, or ulcer.
adj.
  1. 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 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)
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.