- painfully or grievously: sorely wounded
- pressingly or greatly: to be sorely taxed, he will be sorely missed
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
sore•ly
(sôr′lē, sōr′-),USA pronunciation adv.
- in a painful manner.
- extremely;
very:I was sorely tempted to report him.
- bef. 900; Middle English sarely, soreli, Old English sārlīce; see sore, -ly
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
sorely /ˈsɔːlɪ/ adv
sore /sɔr/USA pronunciation
adj., sor•er, sor•est, n., adv.
adj.
n. [countable]
adv.
sore•ness, n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026adj.
- Pathologyphysically painful or sensitive, such as a wound or diseased part:a sore arm.
- Pathology suffering bodily pain from wounds, bruises, etc.:[be + ~]I'm sore all over from that heavy lifting we did yesterday.
- Pathology, Psychiatry suffering mental pain:[be + ~]sore at heart.
- Psychiatry causing great mental pain:[before a noun]a sore loss.
- causing very great misery or hardship:[before a noun]The team is in sore need of a new pitcher.
- Informal Terms annoyed;
irritated;
angered:[be + ~ (+ at + object)]The boss is sore (at me) because I lost her report. - causing annoyance or irritation:Her accident with the car is a sore subject right now.
n. [countable]
- an irritated or infected spot on the body that is painful:His skin was covered with scaly sores.
adv.
- [Archaic.]sorely.
sore•ness, n. [uncountable]
sore
(sôr, sōr),USA pronunciation adj., sor•er, sor•est, n., adv.
adj.
adj.
- Pathologyphysically painful or sensitive, as a wound, hurt, or diseased part:a sore arm.
- Pathologysuffering bodily pain from wounds, bruises, etc., as a person:He is sore because of all that exercise.
- Pathology, Psychiatrysuffering mental pain;
grieved, distressed, or sorrowful:to be sore at heart. - Psychiatrycausing great mental pain, distress, or sorrow:a sore bereavement.
- causing very great suffering, misery, hardship, etc.:sore need.
- Informal Termsannoyed;
irritated;
offended;
angered:He was sore because he had to wait. - causing annoyance or irritation:a sore subject.
- a sore spot or place on the body.
- a source or cause of grief, distress, irritation, etc.
- [Archaic.]sorely.
- bef. 900; Middle English (adjective, adjectival, noun, nominal, and adverb, adverbial); Old English sār; cognate with Dutch zeer, German sehr, Old Norse sārr
n.
adv.
- 1. tender. 3. aggrieved, hurt, pained, vexed. 4. grievous, distressing, painful, depressing. 8. infection, abscess, ulcer, wound.
'sorely' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):