sore

[ sawr, sohr ]

/ sɔr, soʊr /

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See synonyms for: sore / sorest / sores / soreness on Thesaurus.com

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.: 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR sore

1 tender.

3 aggrieved, hurt, pained, vexed.

4 grievous, distressing, painful, depressing.

8 inflammation, abscess, ulcer, wound.

See synonyms for sore on Thesaurus.com

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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

OTHER WORDS FROM sore

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use sore in a sentence

She falls desperately in love with her wounded guest, and to him there comes the sorest temptation of his life.
Beyond|Henry Seward Hubbard
Richard's face flushed, but he would not willingly show anger with one who had granted the prayer of his sorest need.
There and Back|George MacDonald
It would be the thrusting of a probe deep into the tenderest and sorest parts of the Confederate body-politic.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 81, July, 1864|Various
It dropped with deadly effect upon the sorest spot of all, completely unnerving him.
The Wendigo|Algernon Blackwood

It was the slab upon which John Friendleton, imaginative at sorest need, had caused to be carved simply a bunch of tuberoses.
A Book o' Nine Tales.|Arlo Bates

British Dictionary definitions for sore

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

Other 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)

sore

OTHER WORDS FOR sore

Origin of sore

OTHER WORDS FROM sore

Words related to sore

How to use sore in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sore

Derived forms of sore

Word Origin for sore

Other Idioms and Phrases with sore