sober
Americanadjective
-
not intoxicated or drunk.
-
habitually temperate, especially in the use of liquor.
- Synonyms:
- abstemious, abstinent
-
quiet or sedate in demeanor, as persons.
-
marked by seriousness, gravity, solemnity, etc., as of demeanor, speech, etc..
a sober occasion.
- Antonyms:
- gay
-
subdued in tone, as color; not colorful or showy, as clothes.
-
free from excess, extravagance, or exaggeration.
sober facts.
-
showing self-control.
sober restraint.
-
sane or rational.
a sober solution to the problem.
- Synonyms:
- sound, reasonable
verb (used with or without object)
-
sobers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sobered,
past participle, past
-
sobering
present participle
adjective
-
not drunk
-
not given to excessive indulgence in drink or any other activity
-
sedate and rational
a sober attitude to a problem
-
(of colours) plain and dull or subdued
-
free from exaggeration or speculation
he told us the sober truth
verb
Synonym Usage
See grave 2.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
nonsobernessnoun
-
sobernessnoun
-
unsobernessnoun
-
nonsoberadjective
-
quasi-soberadjective
-
soberingadjective
-
unsoberadjective
-
unsoberedadjective
-
nonsoberlyadverb
-
quasi-soberlyadverb
-
soberinglyadverb
-
soberlyadverb
-
unsoberlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sobersimple
-
soberssimple
-
have soberedperfect
-
has soberedperfect
-
am soberingprogressive
-
are soberingprogressive
-
is soberingprogressive
-
have been soberingperfect progressive
-
has been soberingperfect progressive
Past
-
soberedsimple
-
had soberedperfect
-
was soberingprogressive
-
were soberingprogressive
-
had been soberingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sober
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English sobre, from Old French, from Latin sōbrius
Explanation
This adjective means the opposite of playful or drunk. When attending a funeral, you are expected to be sober in both senses. The most common meaning of sober is "not drunk" — people who drive need to be sober. Sober sounds a lot like somber, and it often means sad and quiet too, or sometimes too serious. Another meaning is to be logical or realistic about something. Sometimes sober means drab: a grey station wagon is a more sober vehicle than a hot red convertible. All of these meanings are quiet and restrained — unlike a person who has had a lot to drink.
Vocabulary lists containing sober
A Raisin in the Sun
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The Things They Carried
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But allow me to be the boring, sober voice of reason: There’s a vast ocean of cruises between living frugally and rolling out the proverbial red carpet every time you step outside your front door.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026
Phoebe McMahon, a senior who expects to graduate this fall, began attending meetings with the Tulane Recovery Community when she decided to get sober.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026
“At these valuations and after a rally that’s been this aggressive, it’s healthy that investors are taking a sober second look” at the prospect for returns from this AI theme, said Reynolds.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
Others have also pointed to a cultural shift with more people skipping clubs for sober social events.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
It was brown and white, a sober and respectable room that looked to Shadow as if it had last been decorated in 1920.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
Harrelson's Monday night appearance as a guest on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," and a good deal soberer may have reminded us of that.
From Salon ● Mar. 1, 2023
Perhaps that strikes us like a quick, hard smack, makes us soberer and more respectful of facts?
From Washington Post ● Mar. 30, 2020
But in “Bare” as in “Wanderlust,” what starts as a renegade feminism gives way to a soberer truth.
From New York Times ● Jun. 3, 2011
And while the story of Violet and Daisy’s journey toward a soberer recognition of their limits is not joyous, the art and craft that have gone into Condon’s production are full of joy.
From Washington Post
The young preacher was popular, but not, alas! with the soberer and elder portion of the congregation.
From Crying for the Light, Vol. 1 [of 3] or Fifty Years Ago by J. Ewing (James Ewing) Ritchie
Research shows Gen Z is one of the soberest generations ever.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
The soberest predictions of automation job loss still rely on a lattice of interlocking predictions that may not come true.
From Slate ● Mar. 31, 2021
Social media sites and football message boards, prone to conspiracy theories, hyperbole and fabrications in even the soberest scenarios, went wild.
From New York Times ● Aug. 7, 2020
But Barlow’s style was hyperbolic at the soberest of times.
From Salon ● Jun. 2, 2018
On the big day, a dozen of our tall and not-so-tall young ladies presented themselves in their soberest hats, clutching letters of reference in their cleanest white gloves.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
Peter instantly sobers up, utters the key line of the movie, “Let’s go save our friend,” and off they go.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 28, 2023
A Brooklyn chorus-girl sobers up the son and advises the daughter of a rich family.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2019
Duncan MacMillan’s portrait of an actress and her addictions, vivified by a searing turn from Denise Gough, sobers up for the end of its run.
From New York Times ● Nov. 30, 2017
“That sobers you up, to realize you’re at the point where they’re honoring your body of work,” said Lucas, 71, who received the 2012 National Medal of Arts from President Obama.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 15, 2015
His face sobers, grows older in the glow of the red tail-lights.
From "Catching Fire" by Suzanne Collins
The dismal follow-up against Ghana would have sobered them up instantly.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
By the time Prohibition was repealed in 1933, America was left not sobered, but hungover by its own contradictions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
“Participants were almost uniformly sobered by the paucity of effective constraints on abuse of power.”
From Salon ● Nov. 18, 2024
But Osadchyi and other Ukrainian researchers have been sobered by what they’ve found so far.
From Science Magazine ● Jan. 3, 2024
“We were sobered by the knowledge that the world would never be the same,” he said.
From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin
Both my research and our recent times point to a deeper, sobering lesson.
From Slate ● Oct. 26, 2026
Barthorpe said he had been shocked at the "apocalyptic scenes" following the fire which he said had been "quite sobering".
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
That’s a sobering statistic for the Chargers, Houston Texans and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, all winless so far.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
His more intriguing, and sobering, statistic is how much revenue AI would have to garner to justify that boom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
It was a sobering thought, but it was what I’d been given.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
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