sore

Definition

Causing pain or discomfort; painfully sensitive.

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”).

Example Sentences

• "Her feet were sore from walking so far."
• "Malice and hatred are very fretting and vexatious, and apt to make our minds sore and uneasy."
• "The school was in sore need of textbooks, theirs having been ruined in the flood."