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View synonyms for sore

sore

[ sawr, sohr ]

adjective

, sor·er, sor·est.
  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, 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
“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


noun

  1. a painful or sensitive wound, injury, etc
  2. any cause of distress or vexation
“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

adverb

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

  • ˈsoreness, noun
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Other Words From

  • soreness noun
  • un·sore adjective
  • un·sorely adverb
  • un·soreness noun
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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
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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
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Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with sore , also see sight for sore eyes ; stick out (like a sore thumb) .
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Example Sentences

How will she reconcile with Latinos sore that they aren’t represented by one of their own?

“Nothing happens next,” said Davis, who missed a game last week because of a sore heel, an injury the Lakers are continuing to monitor.

“I think he’ll go from being a sore loser to a sore winner,” said Terhune, who lives outside Indianapolis in a blue-collar neighborhood.

Your throat might start to feel itchy and sore.

From BBC

But then, in the offseason, these kids were committed every day, coming to practice sore.”

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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