sore

B1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /soɹ/ UK /sɔː/ See IPA manual

Homophones

soar /soɹ/

Freq #4409

Meanings

1

adj
Painful and sensitive, especially from injury or overuse.

Her feet were sore from walking so far.
2

adj
Angry or upset, especially because of being treated unfairly.

Joe was sore at Bob for beating him at checkers.
3

adj
Very great and urgent (of a need).

The school was in sore need of textbooks after the flood.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · painful and sensitive,... aching achy painful raw tender

2 adj · angry or upset, especially... angry annoyed bad-tempered bothered

Word family

Forms sorersoressorest

Derived forms bedsorebuttsoreearsoreeyesore footsoreheartsorehumpsoremouthsoresaddlesoresorancesore-thumbishsorehead

Related forms blister lesion ulcer

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

sore throat
a painful or inflamed throat, often a symptom of illness

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From Middle English sor, from Old English sār (“ache, wound”, noun) and sār (“painful, grievous”, adjective), from Proto-West Germanic *sair, from Proto-Germanic *sairaz (adjective) from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂eyro-, enlargement of *sh₂ey- (“to be fierce, afflict”). See also Dutch zeer (“sore, ache”), Danish sår (“wound”), German sehr (“very”); also Hittite [script needed] (sāwar, “anger”), Welsh hoed (“pain”), Ancient Greek αἱμωδία (haimōdía, “sensation of having teeth on edge”).

sor Middle English sār Old English *sair Proto-West Germanic *sairaz Proto-Germanic *sh₂eyro- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# sore

**Type:** Word
**Level:** B1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /soɹ/
**IPA (UK):** /sɔː/
**Frequency rank:** 4409

## Meanings
1. Painful and sensitive, especially from injury or overuse.
2. Angry or upset, especially because of being treated unfairly.
3. Very great and urgent (of a need).

## Examples
- Her feet were sore from walking so far.
- Joe was sore at Bob for beating him at checkers.
- The school was in sore need of textbooks after the flood.

## Derived Forms
- bedsore
- buttsore
- earsore
- eyesore
- footsore
- heartsore
- humpsore
- mouthsore
- saddlesore
- sorance
- sore-thumbish
- sorehead

## Related Forms
- blister
- lesion
- ulcer

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: sor
- Root: sār
- Root: *sair
- Root: *sairaz
- Root: *sh₂eyro-

## Etymology
From Middle English sor, from Old English sār (“ache, wound”, noun) and sār (“painful, grievous”, adjective), from Proto-West Germanic *sair, from Proto-Germanic *sairaz (adjective) from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂eyro-, enlargement of *sh₂ey- (“to be fierce, afflict”). See also Dutch zeer (“sore, ache”), Danish sår (“wound”), German sehr (“very”); also Hittite [script needed] (sāwar, “anger”), Welsh hoed (“pain”), Ancient Greek αἱμωδία (haimōdía, “sensation of having teeth on edge”).

## AI Etymology
Sore is from Middle English sor, from Old English sār (“ache, wound”, noun) and sār (“painful, grievous”, adjective), from Proto-West Germanic *sair, from Proto-Germanic *sairaz (adjective) from Proto-Indo-European *sh₂eyro-, enlargement of *sh₂ey- (“to be fierce, afflict”). See also Dutch zeer (“sore, ache”), Danish sår (“wound”), German sehr (“very”); also Hittite [script needed] (sāwar, “anger”), Welsh hoed (“pain”), Ancient Greek αἱμωδία (haimōdía, “sensation of having teeth on edge”). Important forms in the word's history include Middle English sor, Old English sār, Proto-West Germanic *sair, Proto-Germanic *sairaz, Proto-Indo-European *sh₂eyro-. In current use it includes senses such as Painful and sensitive, especially from injury or overuse and Angry or upset, especially because of being treated unfairly.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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