EN

Synonyms for sore

  • adjective
  • noun

Most common

hurt painful aching achy angry irritated afflictive

Synonyms by meaning

Adjective

1. Painful — causing pain or discomfort; painfully sensitive

painful, hurt, tender, achy, aching, raw, sensitive, severe, smarting, suffering, sharp, pained, grievous, distressing, dire, hurty, painfilled, achesome

2. Irritated — feeling animosity towards someone; annoyed or angered

irritated, angry, inflamed, mad, upset, vexed, annoyed, livid, peeved, cross, incensed, huffy informal, wrathful, irate, irked, choleric, ratty informal, splenetic, ireful, cranky, irritable, bothered

3. Touchy — sensitive; tender; easily pained, grieved, or vexed; very susceptible of irritation

touchy, tetchy UK US IE, delicate, fragile

Other

urgent, afflictive

Noun

canker, ulcer, abscess, ulceration, boil, fester, gathering, blain, pustule, chancre, chancroid

Definitions

  1. adj. 1

    Causing pain or discomfort; painfully sensitive.

    Her feet were sore from walking so far.

  2. adj. 2

    Sensitive; tender; easily pained, grieved, or vexed; very susceptible of irritation.

  3. adj. 3

    Feeling animosity towards someone; annoyed or angered.

    Joe was sore at Bob for beating him at checkers.

  4. n. 1

    An injured, infected, inflamed or diseased patch of skin.

    They put ointment and a bandage on the sore.

Related words

Phrases
cold sore pressure sore sore loser sore point canker sore sore throat desert sore oriental sore

Forms

Plural
sores → cankers, ulcers, abscesses, ulcerations…

Example sentences

  • hurt I don't want to hurt Tom, but I will if I have to.
  • painful She is still in the painful process of growing up.
  • aching It hurts to even walk with my thigh muscles aching.
  • angry I was angry about missing that film at the cinema.
  • irritated Mary is easily irritated, and often flips her lid.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
sorerising
hurtrising
painfulrising
achingrising
achyrising
angryrising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

3 letters
mad1, raw1
4 letters
hurt1, boil1, dire1, achy2
5 letters
cross1, angry2, upset2, sharp1, livid2, ulcer2, vexed1, irate2, irked1, ratty2, blain1, huffy2, hurty
6 letters
severe2, urgent2, tender2, aching2, cranky2, touchy2, pained1, fester2, peeved1, canker2, tetchy, ireful
7 letters
painful2, annoyed2, fragile2, abscess2, pustule, chancre
8 letters
bothered2, delicate3, grievous2, inflamed2, incensed2, smarting2, wrathful, choleric3, achesome
9 letters
sensitive3, suffering3, gathering3, irritated4, irritable4, splenetic, chancroid
10 letters
ulceration4, afflictive, painfilled
11 letters
distressing3

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (achy2 = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français
courbaturé
Español
adolorido