SORE Synonyms: 435 Similar and Opposite Words

sore 1 of 3

adjective

ˈsȯr

Definition of sore

as in aching

causing or feeling bodily pain my legs are sore after that long walk yesterday

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in angry

feeling or showing anger promise not to get sore if I tell you what I really think of your new hairstyle?

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in cynical

having or showing deep-seated resentment he's been sore ever since she insulted him

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

sore

2 of 3

adverb

as in terribly

to a great degree I was sore afraid we'd never make it home

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

sore

3 of 3

noun

as in swelling

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

as in wart

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of sore

Adjective

Stiff joints, swollen fingers, sore feet—psoriatic arthritis (PsA) can make everyday tasks feel harder. — Health Editorial Team, HEALTH, 3 Nov. 2026 Williams missed three games because of a sore left foot but returned Monday with nine points, two rebounds and two assists off the bench. — Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026

Adverb

Toward the end, people grab partners and race around the ballroom in a gallop through a tunnel of arms, an exhilarating experience—especially in heels—that leaves the heart pumping and the quads sore for days. — Valeriya Safronova, Vanity Fair, 19 Feb. 2026 Guys come up sore all the time. — Matt Kawahara, Houston Chronicle, 11 Feb. 2026

Noun

Rather than waiting for athletes to feel tired or sore, the staff planned recovery around what each athlete had done and needed to do next. — Adam Annaccone, The Conversation, 18 Aug. 2026 Love, despite not having much concern after the game, entered the building sore on Friday. — Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 15 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sore

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sore

Adjective

The homestretch of the drama, however, takes the story in a chilling direction, packing an aching quantity of feeling into a single glance at a security camera as someone climbs into a car and leaves the compound, never to be heard from again.

— Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 26 May 2026
Charles Frazier, Cold Mountain (1997) Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain is an aching, tender slow burn shaped by absence.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026

Definition of aching

Adjective

His second confrontation is with an angry, judgmental version of Original Vision who accuses him of cowardice and inaction for denying his identity for so long.

— Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2026
His familiar cast of angry, sometimes menacing children began to give way to quieter, more introspective figures.

— Daniel Cassady for ARTnews, Robb Report, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of angry

Adjective

The piece is an exuberantly hopeful and unabashedly patriotic look at America and its possibilities that seems downright defiant in such a deeply cynical and divided time in the nation’s history.

— Tim Greiving, Los Angeles Times, 3 Nov. 2026
Far more gruesome and cynical than its YA label would imply, Weiner’s brisk novel is the literary equivalent of a sugar rush.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Nov. 2026

Definition of cynical

Adverb

The North Carolina state legislator Jennifer Balkcom wasn’t terribly well-known before this election cycle.

— Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 3 Nov. 2026
By focusing on the brain’s extraordinary—and still under-recognized—capacity for repair, Swain doesn’t encourage us to marvel at the many ways in which things can go terribly wrong.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of terribly

Noun

The wart that refuses to go away is whatever is up with Vicki and Tamra.

— Brian Moylan, Vulture, 23 Oct. 2026
Without the complication of his father’s political career and (one hopes) without political ambitions of his own, Hunter seems to be expressing something closer to his authentic self, warts and all.

— David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 8 June 2026

Definition of wart

Adjective

The heartwarming film takes us on a ride through archive and new footage and rehearsals and re-enactments of Happy Gays that bring up happy but also painful memories, along with a different side of the at times curmudgeonly Jolanda.

— Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 5 Nov. 2026
For the third time in two seasons, Sam is forced to sever a relationship, and this one may be the most painful, the most cruel, because in killing Jerry, Sam is destroying potential.

— Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of painful

Adjective

Thomas complains about being stuck in the Keanu Reeves movie Speed, which sends Paladin off on a surprisingly indignant, knowledgeable pop-culture rant.

— Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 28 Oct. 2026
His tone was reminiscent of the indignant woman in Yamaska who’d unloaded on me while walking her dog.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2026