1
as in sadly
with feelings of bitterness or grief
our company president, who is retiring at the end of the year, will be sorely missed
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2
as in terribly
to a great degree
completed some sorely needed repairs to the boat
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sorely
The Jayhawks sorely missed Peterson’s offensive presence and ability to create his own shot.
—
Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 29 Oct. 2025
Diaz, in particular, has been sorely missed this season.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
Under the terms of the ceasefire, which has already been sorely tested, 600 trucks of aid were supposed to enter Gaza daily.
—Lydia Polgreen, Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2025
His rebounding was sorely missed in Wednesday’s season opener as the Suns outrebounded the Kings 51-37.
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sorely
Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 29 Oct. 2025
Diaz, in particular, has been sorely missed this season.
—Tim Spiers, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2025
Under the terms of the ceasefire, which has already been sorely tested, 600 trucks of aid were supposed to enter Gaza daily.
—Lydia Polgreen, Mercury News, 25 Oct. 2025
His rebounding was sorely missed in Wednesday’s season opener as the Suns outrebounded the Kings 51-37.
—Jason Anderson, Sacbee.com, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sorely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sorely
Adverb
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This should be, but sadly will probably not be, the line that shouldn’t have been crossed.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
7 Jan. 2026
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Discovering the chemicals responsible for smoke taint is, sadly, only half the battle.—
Nicola Twilley,
New Yorker,
5 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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The data center industry does not have a terribly good answer for this, except that their 83° sun-synchronous orbit is much less crowded than equatorial ones, meaning a lower risk of collisions.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
7 Jan. 2026
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Polls, however, suggest the bill is not terribly popular with voters, which has left Republicans saying the White House must do a better job of selling it.—
Ryan Mancini,
The Hill,
31 Dec. 2025
Adverb
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Its inhabitants were left without light or heat during a bitterly cold polar vortex, with temperatures as low as 2 degrees Fahrenheit.—
Rachel Treisman,
NPR,
5 Jan. 2026
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Hasina was bitterly criticized by both her opponents and independent critics for sending Zia to jail.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
30 Dec. 2025
Adverb
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The first indicator is oftentimes a lack of water flow from faucets when the weather is extremely cold.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
11 Jan. 2026
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Skeeter, 36, serves as the Hornets’ player development coach and is also the primary person who works extremely closely with star guard LaMelo Ball.—
Roderick Boone,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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Tarun would tease her, and my mother would look sorrowfully toward Kavitha, as if the two of them now shared some womanly burden.—
Madhuri Vijay,
New Yorker,
16 Nov. 2025
Adverb
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In the ninth century, a severely disabled woman was buried, her feet bound, in an annex of the church in Elsau, outside Zürich.—
Rivka Galchen,
New Yorker,
7 Jan. 2026
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The time is never right to severely chop off your crape myrtle.—
Leanne Potts,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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Inspired by a 2017 Los Angeles Time article about a San Gabriel Valley tragedy, director Eric Lin’s heartbreaking feature painfully reminds us of the need to get help and how mental health issues within Asian cultures need to be destigmatized.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
8 Jan. 2026
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By Sunday, he was gone, a mercifully swift ending to painfully slow decline.—
Scott Maxwell,
The Orlando Sentinel,
8 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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Coon’s Agnes is a broken woman desperately looking for companionship following the devastating loss of her son and the physical and emotional violence inflicted on her by her ex-husband.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
9 Jan. 2026
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This franchise desperately needs elite talent, and the best chance of securing that is by tanking for as high a draft pick as possible.—
Harman Dayal,
New York Times,
9 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sorely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sorely. Accessed 11 Jan. 2026.
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