Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

sore

[sawr, sohr]

Origin

adjective

physically painful or sensitive, as a wound, hurt, or diseased part: a sore arm.

suffering bodily pain from wounds, bruises, etc., as a person: He is sore because of all that exercise.

suffering mental pain; grieved, distressed, or sorrowful: to be sore at heart.

causing great mental pain, distress, or sorrow: a sore bereavement.

causing very great suffering, misery, hardship, etc.: sore need.

EXPAND

Informal. annoyed; irritated; offended; angered: He was sore because he had to wait.

causing annoyance or irritation: a sore subject.

COLLAPSE

noun

a sore spot or place on the body.

a source or cause of grief, distress, irritation, etc.

:10

:09

:08

:07

:06

:05

:04

:03

:02

:01

Sore is always a great word to know.

So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:

a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

adverb

10.

Archaic. sorely.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English (adj., noun, and adv.); Old English sār; cognate with Dutch zeer, German sehr, Old Norse sārr

Related forms

sore·ness, noun

un·sore, adjective

un·sore·ly, adverb

un·sore·ness, noun

Synonyms
1. tender. 3. aggrieved, hurt, pained, vexed. 4. grievous, distressing, painful, depressing. 8. infection, abscess, ulcer, wound.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source

Link To sore

Collins

World English Dictionary

sore (sɔː)

—*adj*
1.	(esp of a wound, injury, etc) painfully sensitive; tender
2.	causing annoyance: a sore point
3.	resentful; irked: he was sore that nobody believed him
4.	urgent; pressing: in sore need
5.	(postpositive) grieved; distressed
6.	causing grief or sorrow

—n
7.	a painful or sensitive wound, injury, etc
8.	any cause of distress or vexation

—*adv*
9.	archaic direly; sorely (now only in such phrases as sore pressed, sore afraid)

[Old English sār; related to Old Norse sārr, Old High German sēr, Gothic sair sore, Latin saevus angry]

'soreness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source

Etymonline

Word Origin & History

sore

O.E. sar "painful, grievous, aching," infl. in meaning by O.N. sarr "sore, wounded," from P.Gmc. *sairaz (cf. O.Fris. sar "painful," M.Du. seer, Du. zeer "sore, ache," O.H.G. ser "painful"), from PIE base *sai- "suffering" (cf. O.Ir. saeth "pain, sickness"). Adv. use (e.g. sore afraid) has mostly died

EXPAND

out (except as sorely), but remains the main meaning of Ger. cognate sehr "very." Slang meaning "angry, irritated" is first recorded 1738; sorehead "mean, discontented person" is first recorded 1848, Amer.Eng.

sore

O.E. sar "bodily injury, sickness, disease, pain, suffering," from root of sore (adj.). Now restricted to ulcers, boils, blisters.

COLLAPSE

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

sore (sôr)
n.
An open skin lesion, wound, or ulcer. adj.
Painful to the touch; tender.

sore'ness n.

Slang Dictionary

sore definition

mod.
angry. : She is one sore old lady. You should give her teeth back.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

sore

In addition to the idiom beginning with sore, also see sight for sore eyes; stick out (like a sore thumb).