sore
/sɔː
/adjective
1(Of a part of one’s body) painful or aching: she had a sore throat...
- My whole body was sore and my legs ached as I made my way to the cafeteria.
- By Tuesday, your throat is sore, your joints ache and you feel lousy.
- I mean headache, sore throat, muscle ache, stomachache, fever, and all that good stuff.
Synonyms
painful, in pain, hurting, hurt, aching, throbbing, smarting, stinging, burning, irritating, irritated, agonizing, excruciating;
inflamed, angry, red, reddened, sensitive, tender, delicate, chafed, raw, bruised, wounded, injured
1.1Suffering pain from a part of one’s body: he was sore from the long ride...
- The landing stunned me and I was really sore and in pain.
- Either way, never use more weight than you can handle with perfect form, and slow down if you feel pain during a workout or are especially sore or stiff the next day.
- I'm already so sore inside that a little pain outside might actually be welcome, to create some equilibrium.
2 [predicative] informal, chiefly North American Upset and angry: I didn’t even know they were sore at us...
- Kamaria glowered, still sore at having not noticed Link's talent sooner and angry at Linden for agreeing with him.
- The Pacific Islander community is surely sore at being left out.
- Bear and Tiger became my friend but falcon was still sore at me for nearly killing him the first time we meet in the master's house.
Synonyms
upset, angry, annoyed, cross, angered, furious, enraged, in a temper, bothered, vexed, displeased, disgruntled, dissatisfied, indignant, exasperated, irritated, galled, irked, put out, aggrieved, offended, affronted, resentful, piqued, nettled, ruffled, in high dudgeon
informal aggravated, miffed, peeved, riled, hacked off, peed off
British informal narked, eggy, cheesed off, browned off, brassed off, not best pleased
North American informal teed off, ticked off, steamed
vulgar slang pissed off
3 [attributive] Severe; urgent: we’re in sore need of him...
- He said the annual extravaganza, held in Aberystwyth, was in sore need of funds.
Synonyms
dire, urgent, pressing, desperate, critical, crucial, acute, grave, serious, intense, crying, burning, compelling, drastic, extreme, life-and-death, great, very great, terrible
archaic or humorous parlous
rare exigent
noun
1A raw or painful place on the body: all of us had sores and infections on our hands...
- He was lean and muscular, but painful scars and sores ran across his body like tattoos.
- A mouth ulcer is a painful sore in the mouth on either the cheeks or gums.
- Painful spots or blisters turn into open sores, which scab over and heal.
Synonyms
inflammation, swelling, lesion;
wound, scrape, abrasion, chafe, cut, laceration, graze, contusion, bruise;
running sore, ulcer, ulceration, boil, abscess, carbuncle, canker
1.1A cause or source of distress or annoyance: there’s no point raking over the past and opening old sores...
- It was a nasty game where old sores festered and attempts were made to settle long standing bitterness.
- The Secretary argued that the reopening of all these old sores would benefit none but Germany.
- The traditionalists of the discontinuant left keep scratching the same old sores.
adverb archaic
Extremely; severely: they were sore afraid...
- The eclipse started, the natives were sore afraid, and Columbus eventually agreed to ‘return the Moon’ in return for food.
- And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them; and they were sore afraid.
- And such men were sore afraid for the sons of Kahn.
Phrases
sore point
stand (or stick) out like a sore thumb
Origin
Old English sār (noun and adjective), sāre (adverb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zeer 'sore' and German sehr 'very'. The original sense was 'causing intense pain, grievous', whence the adverbial use.