sorely

adverb

sore·​ly ˈsȯr-lē 

1

: in a sore manner : painfully

2

: very, extremely

sorely needed changes

Synonyms

• agonizingly
• bitterly
• dolefully
• dolorously
• grievously
• hard
• hardly
• inconsolably
• lugubriously
• mournfully
• painfully
• plaintively
• regretfully
• resentfully
• ruefully
• sadly
• sorrowfully
• unhappily
• wailfully
• woefully
• wretchedly

Examples of sorely in a Sentence

You will be sorely missed.

She provided some sorely needed help.

The house is sorely in need of paint.

He is sorely lacking in social skills.

Recent Examples on the Web

Assuming Gordon is out or ineffective due to his injury, the Nuggets will sorely miss his rebounding against Thunder bigs Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein. —Tyler Everett, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 May 2025

Two weeks ago, the Dodgers sorely missed a left-handed bat like his off the bench in a May 4 loss in Atlanta, a game that ended with Barnes and fellow soft-hitting veteran Miguel Rojas recording outs in tough right-on-right matchups against Braves closer Raisel Iglesias. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2025

The left-back was sorely missed against Inter, with Denzel Dumfries leaving the left side of Barcelona’s defence dizzy. —Anantaajith Raghuraman, New York Times, 16 May 2025

But that thinking is naive and sorely mistaken, says social scientist Michael Flood, who's at Queensland University of Technology in Australia. —Michaeleen Doucleff, NPR, 30 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

sorely

adverb

sore·​ly ˈsō(ə)r-lē 

ˈsȯ(ə)r-

: in a sore manner