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sorely

adverb

ˈsȯr-lē How to pronounce sorely (audio)
Definition of sorelynext
1
as in bitterly
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in terribly
to a great degree completed some sorely needed repairs to the boat

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 sorely Sumrall preaches discipline and accountability, two qualities sorely lacking as the tenures of Dan Mullen and Billy Napier unraveled. — Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Aug. 2026 More maintenance and restoration around the critical infrastructure is sorely needed at this point in time. — Megan De Mar, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026 Here in SoCal, those spaces represent the soul of Disneyland, but the Magic Kingdom is a different beast and has sorely needed new attractions. — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2026 Gracen Halton making strong first impression The 49ers added Oklahoma defensive tackle Gracen Halton to add depth to the interior pass rush after sorely lacking juice from the position in 2025. — Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 14 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sorely
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sorely
  1. bitterly
  2. terribly
  3. sadly
  4. extremely
  5. sorrowfully
  6. severely
  7. painfully
  8. desperately
Adverb
  • Homer Hill, as the name suggests, is also at no little altitude, and bitterly exposed to the elements when winter arrives.
    — Daniel Taylor, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Although the Supreme Court’s power to overrule Congress is now broadly accepted, it was bitterly contested for more than a century.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of bitterly
Adverb
  • Though Lock and Fleury aren’t Darnold and Kubiak, Wednesday night’s game demonstrated that Seattle is not interested in making terribly many overarching changes from last year’s general offensive approach.
    — Andrew Destin, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • The other might be the terribly limited prospects of people like Miguelito living in Chivilcoy, a town outside Buenos Aires, where the two latter parts of the film is set.
    — Roberto Prieto, Variety, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of terribly
Adverb
  • In this case, a small organization was able to generate more engagement than the YouTube channels for major media organizations like The Washington Post, The New Yorker, The Boston Globe, and, sadly, Semafor.
    — Max Tani, semafor.com, 2 Sep. 2026
  • Dickie Birdsall sadly passed away last year, and his family has now decided to let the car go.
    — Howard Walker, Robb Report, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of sadly
Adverb
  • Those advantages can deliver real business value and can be extremely difficult for competitors to overcome.
    — George Couris, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Despite this high level of inconsistency, people were extremely confident their memories were correct.
    — Elizabeth A. Phelps, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of extremely
Adverb
  • 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
Definition of sorrowfully
Adverb
  • The consequences of the economic crisis, migration, unemployment and diminishing access to education can sometimes be felt even more severely in smaller towns than in major cities.
    — Roberto Prieto, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Homes from south Orange County to Malibu were flooded and severely damaged.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of severely
Adverb
  • Broadly speaking, great works of Russian literature have a tendency to combine painfully austere themes with strangely rich imaginations.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 5 Sep. 2026
  • For Holocaust survivors and their descendants, as well as for the Jewish immigrants and their children, Yiddish became a source of nostalgia – the link to a world that vanished painfully in a short period of time.
    — Ilan Stavans, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of painfully
Adverb
  • Drury desperately needs them to, having set the stakes with his aggressive moves.
    — Peter Baugh, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Abandoning the group at a moment when sovereignty over its own reserves is more contested than at any point since the 1970s would surrender political leverage without delivering additional export revenue the country desperately needs.
    — Amena Bakr, semafor.com, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of desperately

Browse Nearby Words

soreheads
sorely
soreness
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Cite this Entry

“Sorely.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sorely. Accessed 15 Sep. 2026.

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