sore 1 of 3

adjective

ˈsȯr How to pronounce sore (audio)
Definition of sorenext
1
as in aching
causing or feeling bodily pain my legs are sore after that long walk yesterday

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2
as in angry
feeling or showing anger promise not to get sore if I tell you what I really think of your new hairstyle?

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3
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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sore

3 of 3

noun

1
as in swelling

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2
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
That issue has long been a sore spot with the Patriots. — Bill Speros, Boston Herald, 7 Mar. 2025 The coal industry is also a major economic hub in many Chinese provinces, presenting a sore spot for the country’s environmental goals. — Simmone Shah, TIME, 7 Mar. 2025
Adverb
For the Pacers, All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton (knee bruise), center Myles Turner (sore back) and backup point guard T.J. McConnell (sore back) are each questionable to play. — Detroit Free Press, 11 Mar. 2023 Keita Bates-Diop (sore back), Josh Primo (stomach illmess). — Jeff McDonald, San Antonio Express-News, 11 Mar. 2022
Noun
Doctors used to think that peptic ulcers — open sores in the stomach’s lining or the first section of the small intestine — were caused by stress or other lifestyle factors, like eating spicy foods. — Alice Callahan, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2025 For some, chemo mouth can result in mouth sores and other uncomfortable symptoms, like a limited ability to eat, drink or even speak, according to experts. — Angelica Stabile, Fox News, 21 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for sore
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sore
  1. aching
  2. angry
  3. cynical
  4. terribly
  5. swelling
  6. wart
  7. painful
  8. indignant
Adjective
  • Somebody Somewhere is tiny: a gorgeous, introspective, intimate story about a woman with devastatingly mundane problems whose chief obstacle is her own aching sense of grief and dislocation.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 9 Dec. 2024
  • In this novel about the shape-shifting nature of love, Parsons captures Kit’s grief in aching and honest terms.
    — Annabel Gutterman, TIME, 6 Dec. 2024
Definition of aching
Adjective
  • During eight tumultuous days in 1988 at the world’s only Deaf university, four students must find a way to lead an angry mob to change the course of history.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 11 Mar. 2025
  • Accept Your Child's Anger When your child has an angry outburst, acknowledge it.
    — Miriam Foley, Parents, 11 Mar. 2025
Definition of angry
Adjective
  • Some who do have a cynical view — asking what good was it for people to risk that bridge crossing for Black freedom when young Black people are killing one another in Selma today?
    — Marisa Peñaloza, NPR, 9 Mar. 2025
  • The cynical Pia is not interested but agrees to her family setting her up on five blind dates, but with her sister's wedding looming and her high school sweetheart serving as best man to the groom, chaos is right around the corner.
    — William Lambers, Newsweek, 7 Mar. 2025
Definition of cynical
Adverb
  • In the movie, Nicholson plays a bank robber whose heist goes terribly wrong, leaving a trail of death and destruction behind.
    — Gillian Telling, People.com, 12 Mar. 2025
  • And, when Andreeva did just that and snagged the big title, no one who’s been following women’s tennis was terribly surprised.
    — Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2025
Definition of terribly
Noun
  • Soreness and swelling may last for a few weeks after surgery, according to Mayo Clinic.
    — Alyssa Goldberg, USA TODAY, 11 Mar. 2025
  • Both measles pneumonia and brain swelling can be fatal.
    — Daniel Pastula, The Conversation, 28 Feb. 2025
Definition of swelling
Noun
  • But his music also encourages discovering your true self, warts and all.
    — Vibhas Ratanjee, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2025
  • The Smith case is one of scores touched by those detectives winding through the courts, warts and all.
    — Donna McGuire, Ian Cummings, and Glenn E. Rice, Kansas City Star, 25 Feb. 2025
Definition of wart
Adjective
  • While that decline was painful for COST holders, the stock bottomed in mid-May, five months before the S & P 500 ultimately found its own low in October 2022.
    — Frank Cappelleri, CNBC, 12 Mar. 2025
  • For Senate Democrats, the GOP plan is painful to swallow.
    — Philip Elliott, TIME, 12 Mar. 2025
Definition of painful
Adjective
  • Tendrils of hypocrisy appear in 2025 over baseball’s continuing ban of Rose as sports leagues including MLB climb into bed with betting sportsbooks and reap millions from them, while simultaneously acting all aghast and indignant that a player of theirs might dip a toe in gambling.
    — Greg Cote, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2025
  • The album’s a masterpiece of circulatory funk that works your body but whose indignant resignation and few hopeful embers also break your heart.
    — Wesley Morris, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025
Definition of indignant

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Cite this Entry

“Sore.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sore. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.

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