Meaning & use
sorely missed
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
Missed very much, so that the absence causes real sadness or leaves a clear gap.
Grammar: Often follows be: she will be sorely missed.
Patterns
- be sorely missed
- sorely missed by someone
Our teacher retires this week and will be sorely missed.
The old bakery was sorely missed by the whole street.
He was sorely missed at the family reunion.
phrasefixed phrase
Badly lacking or needed, because something or someone useful is not there.
Grammar: Used about things or skills as well as people: a sorely missed opportunity.
Patterns
- sorely missed in something
Her experience was sorely missed during the budget talks.
A good map was sorely missed on the foggy trail.
Common combinations
- will be sorely missed
- The captain will be sorely missed next season.
- was sorely missed
- Her humor was sorely missed at the meeting.
- sorely missed by friends
- He was sorely missed by friends and neighbors.
- sorely missed opportunity
- The grant was a sorely missed opportunity for the school.
- is still sorely missed
- Their late founder is still sorely missed.
Synonyms and how they differ
- greatly missed
- Greatly missed is plainer and less emotional than sorely missed.
- badly missed
- Badly missed is more casual and often used about practical need.
- deeply missed
- Deeply missed focuses on strong feeling, while sorely missed also suggests a real gap.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: sorely missed or surely?
sorely missed vs surely
Surely means without doubt, while sorely means painfully or very much.
Practice
The local doctor retired after thirty years. Which sentence is most natural?
Choose one answer.
Sorely missed is the fixed phrase, used after be. Surely changes the meaning and sorrily is not used this way, and the last option has a broken passive.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sorely missed”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.