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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.

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

Related Words for sorest

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 sorest

Historical Examples of sorest

  • Triumph of love is greatest, when peril of love has been sorest.

    Poems

    William D. Howells

  • When the heart is sick and sorest, There is balsam in the forest–– There is balsam in the forestFor its pain.

    Irish Fairy Tales

    Edmond Leamy

  • In her efforts to placate him she had touched upon his sorest spot.

    The Harbor of Doubt

    Frank Williams

  • But in vain; his father-in-law deserted him at his sorest hour of need.

    Henry VIII.

    A. F. Pollard

  • It has always been my sorest trouble, that we have never got on well together.

    A Girl of the Commune

    George Alfred Henty

British Dictionary definitions for sorest

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 sorest

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
sorest in Medicine

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 sorest

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.