The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - soreadj.

1) painful, sensitive, tender, raw, angry, burning, stinging, smarting, hurting; irritated, inflamed, chafed: My finger is still sore round the cut. 2) sensitive, delicate, tender, embarrassing, awkward, ticklish, touchy, thorny, prickly: Failing to complete medical school is a sore point with her. 3) dire, serious, acute, extreme, critical, urgent, pressing, desperate: He is in sore need of some good advice. 4) angry, angered, annoyed, irritated, vexed, irked, upset, Colloq peeved: Don't get sore at me because you got low marks in your exams. 5) painful, troublesome, grievous, aggrieved, distressing, distressful, harrowing, severe, agonizing, bitter, fierce, burdensome, onerous, heavy, oppressive: Melanie's marital troubles proved a sore trial for her friends. 6) sore straits. difficulty, trouble, distress, danger, dangerous or precarious condition: The business is in sore straits, I fear. --n. 7) injury, damage, swelling, rawness, infection, inflammation, bruise, abrasion, cut, laceration, scrape, burn, canker, ulcer: If that sore on your arm doesn't heal, you'd better see a doctor.