sore

¹sore

adjective \ˈsȯr\

sor·ersor·est

Definition of SORE

1

a : causing pain or distress <a sore subject>

b : painfully sensitive : tender <sore muscles>

c : hurt or inflamed so as to be or seem painful <sore runny eyes> <a dog limping on a sore leg>

2

: attended by difficulties, hardship, or exertion

3

: angry, irked <a sore loser>

— sore·ness noun

Examples of SORE

1. a dog limping on a sore leg
2. The patient has a sore throat.
3. That's a sore subject to bring up.
4. The discussion touched on a sore spot.
5. My neighbor is sore at me.
6. Are you still sore about what happened last night?

Origin of SORE

Middle English sor, from Old English sār; akin to Old High German sēr sore and probably to Old Irish saeth distress

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to SORE

Synonyms

aching, achy, afflictive, hurting, nasty, painful

Antonyms

indolent, painless

Related Words

agonizing, excruciating, torturous; damaging, deleterious, detrimental, harmful, hurtful, injurious, noxious, pernicious; raw, tender; bleeding, burning, chafing, cramping, festering; itching, nagging, pinching, pricking, prickling, smarting, stinging; inflamed (also enflamed), swollen; grievous, severe, threatening, wounding

Near Antonyms

curative, healing, helping, remedial

Rhymes with SORE

boar, Boer, bore, chore, cor, core, corps, crore, door, floor, for, fore, four, frore, gore, Gore, hoar, lore, mor, more, nor, o'er, oar, or, ore, poor, pore, pour, roar, score, shore, snore, soar, splore, spoor, spore, store, Thor, tor, torr, war, whore, yore, your

²sore

noun

Definition of SORE

1

: a localized sore spot on the body; especially : one (as an ulcer) with the tissues ruptured or abraded and usually with infection

2

: a source of pain or vexation : affliction

Examples of SORE

1. He has a sore on his lip.

First Known Use of SORE

before 12th century

³sore

adverb

Definition of SORE

: sorely

Examples of SORE

1. <I was sore afraid we'd never make it home.>

First Known Use of SORE

before 12th century

Related to SORE

Synonyms

achingly, almighty, archly, awful, awfully, badly, beastly, blisteringly, bone, colossally, corking, cracking, damn, damned, dang, deadly, desperately, eminently, enormously, especially, ever, exceedingly (also exceeding), extra, extremely, fabulously, fantastically, far, fiercely, filthy, frightfully, full, greatly, heavily, highly, hugely, immensely, incredibly, intensely, jolly, majorly, mightily, mighty, monstrous [chiefly dialect], mortally, most, much, particularly, passing, rattling, real, really, right, roaring, roaringly, seriously, severely, so, very, sorely, spanking, specially, stinking, such, super, supremely, surpassingly, terribly, that, thumping, too, unco, uncommonly, vastly, vitally, way, whacking, wicked, wildly

Antonyms

little, negligibly, nominally, slightly, somewhat

Related Words

absolutely, altogether, completely, downright, entirely, flat-out, fully, positively, purely, radically, thoroughly, totally, utterly, wholly; deeply, profoundly; exceptionally, notably, remarkably; considerably, extensively, significantly, substantially; appreciably, discernibly, markedly, noticeably, obviously, palpably, plainly, visibly; abundantly, plentifully; astronomically, grandly, monstrously, monumentally; excessively, obscenely, overmuch; amazingly, astonishingly, staggeringly

Near Antonyms

meagerly, scantily; barely, hardly, just, marginally, minimally, scarcely