- 1 if a part of your body is sore, it is painful, and often red, especially because of infection or because a muscle has been used too much to have a sore throat His feet were sore after the walk. My stomach is still sore (= painful) after the operation. Wordfinderhurtbandage, bleed, bruise, fracture, hurt, injury, plaster, sore, swell, wound Synonymspainfulsore raw inflamed excruciating burning itchyThese words all describe something that causes you physical pain.painful causing you physical pain. Painful can describe a part of the body, illness, injury, treatment or death:Is your knee still painful? a series of painful injections a slow and painful deathsore (of a part of the body) painful and often red, especially because of infection or because a muscle has been used too much:a sore throat Their feet were sore after hours of walking.raw (of a part of the body) red and painful, for example because of an infection or because the skin has been damaged:The skin on her feet had been rubbed raw.inflamed (of a part of the body) painful, red and hot because of an infection or injury:The wound had become inflamed.excruciating extremely painful. Excruciating can describe feelings, treatments or death but not parts of the body:an excruciating throat/back/knee.burning painful and giving a feeling of being very hot:She felt a burning sensation in her throat.itchy giving an uncomfortable feeling on your skin that makes you want to scratch; having this feeling:an itchy rash I feel itchy all over.Patterns sore/inflamed/itchy eyes raw/inflamed/itchy skin a painful/an excruciating death a painful/burning sensation excruciating/burning pain See related entries: Injuries, Being ill
- 2[not before noun] sore (at somebody/about something) (informal, especially North American English) upset and angry, especially because you have been treated unfairly synonym annoyed See related entries: Anger Word OriginOld English sār (noun and adjective), sāre (adverb), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zeer ‘sore’ and German sehr ‘very’.Extra examples My stomach is still sore after the operation. Their feet were sore after hours of walking. When I woke up my head was sore and throbbing.Idioms
(informal) bad-tempered or in a bad-tempered way I should keep out of his way. He’s like a bear with a sore head this morning.
(informal) a person or thing that you are pleased to see; something that is very pleasant to look at
a subject that makes you feel angry or upset when it is mentioned It's a sore point with Sue's parents that the children have not been baptized yet. See related entries: Anger
to be very noticeable in an unpleasant way The blue building stood out like a sore thumb among the whitewashed villas. If you wear a suit to the party, you’ll stand out like a sore thumb.
Check pronunciation: sore
