sober

See also: Sober and sõber

English

Etymology

From Old French sobre, from Latin sōbrius, from se- (“without”) + ebrius (“intoxicated”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁egʷʰ- (“drink”). In the sense "not drunk," displaced native undrunken, from Old English undruncen.

Pronunciation

• enPR: sō'bə(r), IPA^(key): /ˈsəʊ.bə(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈsoʊ.bɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊbə(ɹ)
• Homophone: soba (non-rhotic)

Adjective

sober (comparative soberer, superlative soberest)

1. Not drunk; not intoxicated.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:sober

   Antonyms: drunk; see also Thesaurus:drunk

2. Not under the influence of any recreational drug.
   • 2014 October 27, Taylor Swift, Imogen Heap, “Clean (Taylor's Version)”, in 1989 (Taylor's Version)‎^[1], performed by Taylor Swift, published 2023 October 27:

     Ten months sober, I must admit
     Just because you're clean, don't mean you don't miss it

3. Not given to excessive drinking of alcohol.

   Synonym: abstemious

   • 1890, John Charles Cox, “The Sober Life”, in The Godly, Righteous, And Sober Life, page 35:

     Amid all the confusion and disorder that sin has introduced into the world, the Christian in union with God has a grace or Divine help that enables him to live the sober, self-restrained life.

   • 2020 December 29, Hilary Sheinbaum, “Finding Love Without Alcohol”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN:

     After eliminating alcohol from their lives, some sober individuals exclusively date nondrinkers.

   • (Can we date this quote?), (Please provide the book title or journal name)‎^[3]:

     Rose told me that she's sober.

4. (figurative) Moderate; realistic; serious; not playful; not passionate; cool; self-controlled.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:moderate, Thesaurus:serious

   • 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC, page 31:

     God help me to watch and to be sober.

   • 1681, John Dryden, “The Preface to Ovid’s Epistles”, in Ovid, Ovid’s Epistles, […], 2nd edition, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC, page 21:

     [N]o sober man would put himſelf into danger for the Applauſe of ſcaping without breaking his Neck.

   • 2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 230d:

     Which is the finest and soberest state possible.

5. (of color) Dull; not bright or colorful.

   Synonyms: muted, subdued

   • 1667, John Milton, “(please specify the page number)”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     Twilight grey / Had in her sober livery all things clad.

6. Subdued; solemn; grave.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:serious

   • 1717, Alexander Pope, Letter from Edward Blount, Esq.:

     See her sober over a sampler, or gay over a jointed baby.

   • 1718, Mat[thew] Prior, “Alma: Or, The Progress of the Mind”, in Poems on Several Occasions, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], and John Barber […], →OCLC:

     What parts gay France from sober Spain? A little rising rocky chain.

7. (Scotland) Poor; feeble.

Derived terms

• appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober
• cold sober
• draw a sober breath
• drunk words are sober thoughts
• ensober
• sober as a judge
• sober-curious
• sober down
• soberer
• sober house
• soberize
• sober living house
• soberly
• soberness
• sobersided
• sobersides
• sober space
• sober up
• stone-cold sober
• unsober
• wanton kittens make sober cats

 

Translations

not drunk

• Arabic: صَاحٍ (ar) (ṣāḥin)
• Armenian: սթափ (hy) (stʻapʻ)
• Azerbaijani: ayıq (az)
• Bashkir: айыҡ (ayıq), айныҡ (aynıq)
• Belarusian: цвяро́зы (be) (cvjarózy)
• Bulgarian: тре́звен (bg) (trézven)
• Catalan: sobri (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 清醒 (zh) (qīngxǐng), 冷靜／冷静 (zh) (lěngjìng)

• Czech: střízlivý m, střízvý (dated)
• Danish: ædru (da)
• Dutch: nuchter (nl)
• Erzya: тетява (ťeťava)
• Esperanto: sobra (eo)
• Estonian: kaine
• Finnish: selvä (fi); selvin päin
• French: sobre (fr)
• Georgian: ფხიზელი (pxizeli)
• German: nüchtern (de)
• Greek: νηφάλιος (el) m (nifálios)

  Ancient: νηφάλιος (nēphálios)

• Hebrew: פּכֵּחַ (he) m (pikkéaḥ)
• Hungarian: józan (hu)
• Ingrian: siitiä
• Irish: neamh-mheisciúil
• Italian: sobrio (it) m
• Japanese: シラフ (shirafu)
• Karakhanid: اَذِغْ (aδïɣ)
• Latin: sobrius
• Luxembourgish: eniichter
• Macedonian: трезен (trezen), трезвен (trezven)
• Maori: kāore i haurangi
• Norman: sobre m or f (Jersey)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: edru

  Nynorsk: edru

• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: трѣзвъ (trězvŭ)

• Old East Slavic: терезвъ (terezvŭ), тверезъ (tverezŭ)
• Old English: undruncen
• Plautdietsch: nichta
• Polish: trzeźwy (pl)
• Portuguese: sóbrio (pt)
• Romanian: treaz (ro)
• Russian: тре́звый (ru) (trézvyj), тверёзый (ru) (tverjózyj) (regional or non-standard), терёзвый (terjózvyj) (obsolete, regional)
• Scottish Gaelic: sòbair, stuama
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: трезан, тријезан, трезвен

  Roman: trezan (sh), trijezan (sh), trezven (sh)

• Slovak: triezvy
• Slovene: trezen (sl)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: nuchtarny

• Spanish: sobrio (es), sereno (es)
• Swedish: nykter (sv)
• Tatar: аек (tt) (ayek)
• Thai: ไม่เมา, สร่างเมา
• Turkish: ayık (tr)
• Ukrainian: твере́зий (tverézyj)
• Welsh: sobr (cy)
• Yiddish: ניכטער (nikhter)

not given to excessive drinking of alcohol

• Bulgarian: въздържан (bg) (vǎzdǎržan)
• Catalan: sobri (ca)
• Danish: ædruelig
• Dutch: nuchter (nl)
• Estonian: karske (et)
• Finnish: raitis (fi)
• French: sobre (fr)
• Greek: εγκρατής (el) m (egkratís)
• Hungarian: mértékletes (hu)
• Irish: neamh-mheisciúil
• Italian: sobrio (it) m
• Latin: abstēmius
• Norman: sobre m or f (Jersey)
• Portuguese: sóbrio (pt)
• Scottish Gaelic: sòbair, stuama
• Welsh: sobr (cy)

moderate

• Bashkir: айыҡ (ayıq), айныҡ (aynıq)
• Bulgarian: умерен (bg) (umeren)
• Catalan: sobri (ca)
• Czech: střízlivý m
• Danish: sober (da)
• Finnish: hillitty (fi)
• French: sobre (fr)
• German: nüchtern (de), besonnen (de), ernst (de)
• Greek: νηφάλιος (el) m (nifálios), μετρημένος (el) m (metriménos)
• Hungarian: józan (hu), higgadt (hu), megfontolt (hu)
• Italian: sobrio (it) m
• Japanese: 真面目 (ja) (まじめ, majime)
• Norman: sobre m or f (Jersey)
• Old English: gedrēoh, sȳfre
• Portuguese: sóbrio (pt)
• Russian: уме́ренный (ru) (umérennyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: stuama
• Spanish: sobrio (es)
• Welsh: sobr (cy)

dull

• Catalan: sobri (ca)
• Czech: tupý (cs) m, hloupý (cs) m
• Finnish: hillitty (fi)
• French: sobre (fr)
• German: gedeckt (de) (of colours)
• Hungarian: tompa (hu), fakó (hu), matt (hu)
• Norman: sobre m or f (Jersey)
• Portuguese: sóbrio (pt)
• Russian: нея́ркий (ru) (nejárkij), ту́склый (ru) (túsklyj)
• Spanish: apagado (es)
• Turkish: hüşyar, mutedil (tr), uyanık dikkatli
• Welsh: sobr (cy)

subdued; solemn; grave

• Finnish: vakava (fi), vakavamielinen
• Hungarian: komoly (hu)
• Maori: nguengue
• Plautdietsch: ieeboa
• Spanish: sobrio (es)
• Welsh: sobr (cy)

See also

• teetotaller

Verb

sober (third-person singular simple present sobers, present participle sobering, simple past and past participle sobered)

1. (often with up) To make or become sober.
   • 1711, Alexander Pope, An Essay on Criticism:

     There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, / And drinking largely sobers us again.

   • 1950 January, David L. Smith, “A Runaway at Beattock”, in Railway Magazine, page 53:

     The night air may have sobered him a bit by the time they got back to Beattock.

2. (often with up) To overcome or lose a state of intoxication.

   It took him hours to sober up.

3. To moderate one's feelings; to accept a disappointing reality after losing one's ability to believe in a fantastic goal.

   Losing his job was a sobering experience.

Translations

make or become sober

• Bulgarian: изтрезнявам (bg) (iztreznjavam)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 醒酒 (zh) (xǐngjiǔ)

• Czech: vystřízlivět pf
• Esperanto: sobrigi
• Finnish: selvittää (fi)
• German: ernüchtern (de)
• Hungarian: kijózanít (hu)
• Japanese: 酔いを醒ます (yoi wo samasu)
• Swedish: nyktra (sv), nyktra till (sv)

overcome intoxication

• Czech: vystřízlivět pf
• Esperanto: sobriĝi
• Finnish: selvitä (fi)
• French: cuver (fr)
• German: ausnüchtern (de)
• Hungarian: kijózanodik (hu)
• Swedish: nyktra (sv), nyktra till (sv)

Anagrams

• Bores, Boers, Serob, Serbo-, Brose, robes, Obers, bores, Boser, brose, Beros

Danish

Etymology

From French sobre, from Latin sobrius.

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -oːbər

Adjective

sober

1. sober (in character; moderate; realistic; serious)

Inflection

Inflection of sober

	positive	comparative	superlative
indefinite common singular	sober	sobrere	sobrest2
indefinite neuter singular	sobert	sobrere	sobrest2
plural	sobre	sobrere	sobrest2
definite attributive1	sobre	sobrere	sobreste

¹ When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite,
the corresponding "indefinite" form is used.
² The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively.

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch sober, from Old French sobre, from Latin sōbrius. Doublet of zuiver.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -oːbər

Adjective

sober (comparative soberder, superlative soberst)

1. simple, plain, austere

   Synonym: eenvoudig

   Antonym: overdadig

2. sober, not drunk

   Synonym: nuchter

   Antonym: dronken

Declension

Declension of sober
uninflected	sober
inflected	sobere
comparative	soberder
		positive	comparative	superlative
predicative/adverbial		sober	soberder	het soberst het soberste
indefinite	m./f. sing.	sobere	soberdere	soberste
	n. sing.	sober	soberder	soberste
	plural	sobere	soberdere	soberste
definite		sobere	soberdere	soberste
partitive		sobers	soberders	—

Derived terms

• soberheid

 

Swedish

Etymology

From French sobre.

Adjective

sober (comparative sobrare, superlative sobrast)

1. moderate
2. stylish, discreetly tasteful

Inflection

Inflection of sober

Indefinite	positive	comparative	superlative1
common singular	sober	sobrare	sobrast
neuter singular	sobert	sobrare	sobrast
plural	sobra	sobrare	sobrast
masculine plural2	sobre	sobrare	sobrast
Definite	positive	comparative	superlative
masculine singular3	sobre	sobrare	sobraste
all	sobra	sobrare	sobraste

¹ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
² Dated or archaic.
³ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

References

• sober in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• sober in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• sober in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• sobre