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sober

[soh-ber]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sober ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, so·ber·er, so·ber·est.

not intoxicated or drunk.

habitually temperate, especially in the use of liquor.

quiet or sedate in demeanor, as persons.

marked by seriousness, gravity, solemnity, etc., as of demeanor, speech, etc.: a sober occasion.

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.

verb (used with or without object)

to make or become sober: (often followed by up).

Origin of sober

1300–50; Middle English sobre < Old French < Latin sōbrius

Related formsso·ber·ing·ly, adverbso·ber·ly, adverbso·ber·ness, nounnon·so·ber, adjectivenon·so·ber·ly, adverbnon·so·ber·ness, nounnon·so·ber·ing, adjectivequa·si-so·ber, adjectivequa·si-so·ber·ly, adverbun·so·ber, adjectiveun·so·ber·ly, adverbun·so·ber·ness, nounun·so·bered, adjectiveun·so·ber·ing, adjective

Synonyms for sober

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sober ON THESAURUS.COM

2. abstinent, abstemious. 4. serious, quiet, sedate, subdued, staid. See grave². 5. somber, dull. 7. composed, collected. 8. reasonable, sound.

Antonyms for sober

4. gay.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for sobers

dim, mitigate, dampen, temper, restrain, soften, modulate, cloud, darken, deepen, reduce, shade, sober, soft-pedal, subdue

Examples from the Web for sobers

Contemporary Examples of sobers

Liz hides in a closet and then locks Burton in a cabin until he sobers up.
‘Liz & Dick’: 8 Crazy Scenes from Lindsay Lohan’s Elizabeth Taylor Biopic
Jace Lacob
June 14, 2012

Historical Examples of sobers

This fever will cure him, they say it sobers like bloodletting.
Beauchamp's Career, Complete
George Meredith
They often come for a warm soda in the morning, it sobers them.
'I Believe' and other essays
Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull
We have our sobers and our drunks, our Hardy and our Belloc, and Chesterton.
The London Mercury, Vol. I, Nos. 1-6, November 1919 to April 1920
Various
We'll beat it right off, an' I hope to gosh Joe sobers up on the way!
The Professor's Mystery
Wells Hastings
I can hardly believe it, but we'll see what can be got from the man when he sobers up.
Trumpeter Fred
Charles King

British Dictionary definitions for sobers

Sobers

noun

Sir Garfield St Auburn, known as Garry. born 1936, West Indian (Barbadian) cricketer: an all-rounder, he played in 93 test matches (1954–74), 39 as captain, scoring 8,032 runs and taking 235 wickets; first man (1968) to score six sixes in a single over in first-class cricket

sober

adjective

not drunk

not given to excessive indulgence in drink or any other activity

sedate and rationala sober attitude to a problem

(of colours) plain and dull or subdued

free from exaggeration or speculationhe told us the sober truth

verb

(usually foll by up) to make or become less intoxicated, reckless, etc

Derived Formssobering, adjectivesoberingly, adverbsoberly, adverbsoberness, noun

Word Origin for sober

C14 sobre, from Old French, from Latin sōbrius

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sobers

sober

adj.

mid-14c., "moderate in desires or actions, temperate, restrained," especially "abstaining from strong drink," also "calm, quiet, not overcome by emotion," from Old French sobre "decent; sober" (12c.), from Latin sobrius "not drunk, temperate, moderate, sensible," from a variant of se- "without" (see se-) + ebrius "drunk," of unknown origin. Meaning "not drunk at the moment" is from late 14c.; also "appropriately solemn, serious, not giddy." Related: Soberly; soberness. Sobersides "sedate, serious-minded person" is recorded from 1705.

sober

v.

late 14c., "reduce to a quiet condition" (transitive), from sober (adj.). Meaning "render grave or serious" is from 1726. Intransitive sense of "become sober" (since late 19c. often with up) is from 1820. Related: Sobered; sobering.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper