sober Hear it!

sober Definition

so·ber (bər)

adjective

  1. temperate or sparing in the use of alcoholic liquor
  2. not drunk
  3. temperate in any way; not extreme or extravagant
  4. serious, solemn, grave, or sedate
  5. not bright, garish, or flashy; quiet; plain: said of color, clothes, etc.
  6. not exaggerated or distorted the sober truth
  7. characterized by reason, sanity, or self-control; showing mental and emotional balance

Etymology: ME sobre < OFr < L sobrius < so(d)-, var. of se(d)-, without + ebrius, drunk

transitive verb, intransitive verb

to make or become sober: often with up or down

sober Related Forms
so·berly adverb so·ber·ness noun
sober Synonyms

sober

modif.

  1. Solemn

    restrained, earnest, grave; see solemn 1, serious 2.

  2. Temperate

    abstemious, calm, pacific; see moderate 4.

  3. Not drunk

    abstinent, serious, sedate, clear-headed, abstaining, self-possessed, calm, ascetic, non-indulgent, steady, dry, on the wagon*; see also moderate 5. See syn. study at serious.

sober Usage Examples

Modifying Another Word

  • perfectly: Walter Cook, the farm bailiff said deceased was perfectly sober.
  • surprisingly: Godzilla Retail: A surprisingly sober piece of work, the equal of some of the better US 50s creature features.
  • relatively: Take a drink, by all means, but try to say relatively sober.
  • fairly: Salsa dance is not so easy unless you are fairly sober, so generally not much is drunk.
  • completely: I do this completely sober with my eyes wide open.
  • totally: I went very hungry and totally sober for several weeks.

Preposition: for

  • month: An alcoholic, he's only been sober for two months.
  • year: If she can manage to stay sober for a whole year, then and only then does Denny want to hear from her.

Preposition: as

  • judge: I'm as sober as a judge but late it was.

Modifies a noun

  • reflection: Article continues At least my bedside vigil gave me time for sober reflection.
  • judgment: Let them have confidence in a sober military judgment that sees in this very fact the greatest dangers.
  • reminder: Itself a sober reminder to the respect the sea commands.
  • truth: The sober truth is that no one really knows.
  • historian: The enthusiastic amateurs, like the sober historians, were left very much on the margins.
  • assessment: A sober assessment of the score of 1.7 % ?

Used with adjective complement

  • stay: Finally, in order to stay sober he has to witness.
  • remain: Side effects like losing weight, giving the saved money to charity, or remaining sober ( !
  • keep: A crate of beer can often make a good incentive, as you'll have kept sober up until the end.
  • become: Once you become sober, you realize you do have the power to quit.
  • get: You don't get sober by taking the program for granted.
sober Quotes

   I inherited a vile melancholy from my father, which has made me mad all my life, at least not sober.

—Johnson, Samuel known as Dr Johnson

Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

—Bible (NewTestament)

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

—Bible (NewTestament)

The drinking man is never less himself than during his sober intervals.

—Lamb, Charles

And he that will go to bed sober, Falls with the leaf still in October.

—Fo, Dario

Alcohol is a very necessaryarticle† It makes life bearable to millions of people who could not endure their existence if they were quite sober. It enables Parliament to do things at eleven at night that no sane person would do at eleven in the morning.

—Shaw, George Bernard

Of all God's works, which do this world adorn, There is no one more fair and excellent, Then is mans body both for power and form, Whiles it is kept in sober government.

—Spenser, Edmund

The real world is not easy to live in. It is rough; it is slippery. Without the most clear-eyed adjustments we fall and get crushed. A man must stay sober: not always, but most of the time.

—Day, Clarence Shepard

But men at whiles are sober And think by fits and starts, And if they think, they fasten Their hands upon their hearts.

—Housman, A(lfred) E(dward)

'You're not upset, are you,Orr?' Brooke says, pouring wine into my glass. 'Merely sober. The symptoms are similar.'

—Banks, Iain Menzies

'My country right or wrong', is a thing that no patriot would thinkof saying except in a desperate case.It is like saying,'My mother, drunkor sober'. See Decatur 258:8.

—Chesterton, G(ilbert) K(eith)

Often drunk, and seldom sober

—Fuller,Thomas

One evening in October, when I was one-third sober, An'taking home a'load' with manly pride; My poor feet began to stutter, so I lay down in the gutter, And a pig came up an' lay down by my side. Then we sang 'It's all fair weather when good fellowsget together,' Till a lady passing by was heard to say: 'You can tell a man who boozes by the company he chooses', And the pig got up and slowly walked away.

—Burt, Benjamin Hapgood

Some American writers who have known each other for years have never met in the daytime or when both were sober.

—Thurber,James Grover

The sedate, sober, silent, serious, sad-coloured sect.

—Honorius of Autun

I am as sober as a Judge.

—Fielding, Henry

Of course I'm drunköyou don't really expect me to teach this stuff when I'm sober.

—Russell,Willy (William)

Thisgreat College, of this ancient University, has seen some strange sights. It has seen Wordsworth drunk and Porson sober. And here am I, a better poet than Porson, and a better scholar than Wordsworth, betwixt and between.

—Housman, A(lfred) E(dward)

Browse dictionary entries near sober

  1. sobeit
  2. soba (noodles)
  3. soba
  4. sob story
  5. sob sister
  6. sob
  7. Soave
  8. soar
  9. soapy
  10. soapwort
  1. sober-minded
  2. soberly
  3. sobersides
  4. Sobieski
  5. SoBigF Worm
  6. sobriety
  7. sobriquet
  8. soc
  9. soca
  10. socage