What does "sore" mean?
Sore: (Zoöl.) A young buck in the fourth year. See the Note under Buck.
Additional senses
- 2.Tender to the touch; susceptible of pain from pressure; inflamed; painful; -- said of the body or its parts; as, a sore hand.
- 3.Fig.: Sensitive; tender; easily pained, grieved, or vexed; very susceptible of irritation. Malice and hatred are very fretting and vexatious, and apt to make our minds sore and uneasy. Tillotson.
- 4.Severe; afflictive; distressing; as, a sore disease; sore evil or calamity. Shak.
- 5.Criminal; wrong; evil. [Obs.] Shak. Sore throat (Med.), inflammation of the throat and tonsils; pharyngitis. See Cynanche. -- Malignant, Ulcerated or Putrid, sore throat. See Angina, and under Putrid.
- 6.A place in an animal body where the skin and flesh are ruptured or bruised, so as to be tender or painful; a painful or diseased place, such as an ulcer or a boil. The dogs came and licked his sores. Luke xvi.
- 7.2. Fig.: Grief; affliction; trouble; difficulty. Chaucer. I see plainly where his sore lies. Sir W. Scott. Gold sore. (Med.) See under Gold, n.
- 8.In a sore manner; with pain; grievously. Thy hand presseth me sore. Ps. xxxviii.
- 9.2. Greatly; violently; deeply. [Hannah] prayed unto the Lord and wept sore. 1 Sam. i.
- 10.Sore sighed the knight, who this long sermon heard. Dryden.
Sources
- Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913 edition (public domain, via GCIDE / Project Gutenberg).
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- Published: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00 · Modified: 2026-07-17T00:00:00-07:00