sore

1 of 3

adjective

ˈsȯr 

sorer; sorest

1

a

: causing emotional pain or distress

a sore subject

b

: physically tender (as from overuse or injury) : feeling or affected by pain : achy

sore muscles

limped on a sore leg

felt sore all over

2

: attended by difficulties, hardship, or exertion

3

: angry, irked

a sore loser

soreness noun

sore

2 of 3

noun

1

: a localized sore spot on the body

especially : one (such as an ulcer) with the tissues ruptured or abraded and usually with infection

2

: a source of pain or vexation : affliction

sore

3 of 3

adverb

: sorely

Synonyms

Adjective

• aching
• achy
• afflictive
• hurting
• nasty
• painful

Adverb

• achingly
• almighty
• archly
• awful
• awfully
• badly
• beastly
• blisteringly
• bone
• colossally
• corking
• cracking
• damn
• damned
• dang
• deadly
• desperately
• eminently
• enormously
• especially
• ever
• exceedingly
• 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
• sorely
• spanking
• specially
• stinking
• such
• super
• supremely
• surpassingly
• terribly
• that
• thumping
• too
• unco
• uncommonly
• vastly
• very
• vitally
• way
• whacking
• wicked
• wildly

Examples of sore in a Sentence

Adjective

a dog limping on a sore leg

The patient has a sore throat.

That's a sore subject to bring up.

The discussion touched on a sore spot.

My neighbor is sore at me.

Are you still sore about what happened last night?

Noun

He has a sore on his lip.

Adverb

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

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Asking for fairness One lingering sore spot around remote work is the disparity between different state workers. —William Melhado, Sacbee.com, 16 May 2025

Rage, fatigue, mood swings, memory loss, hot flashes, itchy ears, inability to sleep, loss of libido, hair thinning, depression, weight gain, sore knees, night sweats, incontinence. —Katia Riddle, NPR, 15 May 2025

Noun

At almost every turn, they were guarded, held at gunpoint and kept in such deplorable conditions that one of them developed countless sores, another could not walk and a third had serious health conditions that went untreated. —Shirsho Dasgupta, Miami Herald, 16 May 2025

Immunotherapy does not have side effects associated with chemotherapy such as hair loss or mouth sores. —Claire Bugos, Verywell Health, 12 May 2025

Adverb

Goldschmidt’s Back Paul Goldschmidt (sore back) received treatment on Tuesday after exiting Monday’s game early. —Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 18 Mar. 2025

Overall, the Bear Elite Hybrid is a solid pick for sleepers who wake up sore in the lower back area, thanks to the bed’s high-gauge support coils in the center of the bed that hold up the lumbar area. —Kells McPhillips, SELF, 26 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

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

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing sore

• canker sore
• cold sore
• saddle sore
• septic sore throat
• sight for sore eyes
• sore loser
• sore throat
• stick/stand out like a sore thumb

Rhymes for sore

• boar
• boer
• bore
• chore
• cor
• core
• corps
• crore
• door
• drawer
• floor
• flor

Kids Definition

sore

1 of 3 adjective

ˈsō(ə)r 

ˈsȯ(ə)r

sorer; sorest

1

a

: causing pain or distress

a sore subject

b

: full of pain : tender

sore muscles

c

: hurt or red and swollen so as to be or seem painful

sore runny eyes

2

: accompanied by difficulties, hardship, or exertion

in a sore situation

3

: angry sense 1a

my friend is sore at me

soreness noun

sore

2 of 3 noun

1

: a sore spot on the body

especially : one (as an ulcer) with the tissues broken and usually infected

2

: a cause of pain : affliction

sore

3 of 3 adverb

: sorely

Medical Definition

sore

1 of 2 adjective

ˈsō(ə)r, ˈsȯ(ə)r 

sorer; sorest

: causing, characterized by, or affected with pain : painful

sore muscles

a sore wound

sorely adverb

soreness noun

sore

2 of 2 noun

: a localized sore spot on the body

especially : one (as an ulcer) with the tissues ruptured or abraded and usually with infection