SOBER • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Sober

Add this Dictionary
to your website!
See more options...

/sˈoʊbər/ Listen

adjective

Sober adj. (compar. soberer; superl. soberest)

1.

Temperate in the use of spirituous liquors; habitually temperate; as, a sober man. "That we may hereafter live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of Thy holy name."

2.

Not intoxicated or excited by spirituous liquors; as, the sot may at times be sober.

3.

Not mad or insane; not wild, visionary, or heated with passion; exercising cool, dispassionate reason; self-controlled; self-possessed. "There was not a sober person to be had; all was tempestuous and blustering." "No sober man would put himself into danger for the applause of escaping without breaking his neck."

4.

Not proceeding from, or attended with, passion; calm; as, sober judgment; a man in his sober senses.

5.

Serious or subdued in demeanor, habit, appearance, or color; solemn; grave; sedate. "What parts gay France from sober Spain?" "See her sober over a sampler, or gay over a jointed baby." "Twilight gray Had in her sober livery all things clad."

Synonyms: Grave; temperate; abstinent; abstemious; moderate; regular; steady; calm; quiet; cool; collected; dispassionate; unimpassioned; sedate; staid; serious; solemn; somber. See Grave.

verb

Sober v. t. (past & past part. sobered; pres. part. sobering) To make sober. "There shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, And drinking largely sobers us again."

Sober v. i. To become sober; often with down. "Vance gradually sobered down."

See images of 'Sober'

Etymology of 'Sober'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

Share |

Add this dictionary
to your browser search bar

"Sober" Quotes from Famous Books

... they acquire their skill, and from their skill a graceful manner; yet from hence draw no gain or hire: though this adventurous gaiety has its reward, namely, that of pleasing the spectators. What is marvellous, playing at dice is one of their most serious employments; and even sober, they are gamesters: nay, so desperately do they venture upon the chance of winning or losing, that when their whole substance is played away, they stake their liberty and their persons upon one and the last ...

— Tacitus on Germany • Tacitus

... 'n' when he seed ye goin' to the house, he got it inter his head that ye mought be meanin' harm to Easter, who air the only thing alive thet he keers fer much. He promised not to tech ye, 'n' I knowed he would keep his word as long as he was sober. It'll be all right now, I reckon," he concluded, "when I tell him whut ye aims to do, though he hev got a spite ag'in all furriners. Far'well! I wish ye ...

— A Mountain Europa • John Fox Jr.

... in such a nation what can be the use of oratory? You may as well profess the healing art where ill health is never known. Let men enjoy bodily vigour, and the practice of physic will have no encouragement. In like manner, where sober manners prevail, and submission to the authority of government is the national virtue, the powers of persuasion are rendered useless. Eloquence has lost her field of glory. In the senate, what need ...

— A Dialogue Concerning Oratory, Or The Causes Of Corrupt Eloquence • Cornelius Tacitus

... the seriousness with which she spoke, Heideck could not help smiling as he answered: "What a wonderful picture of the world and its affairs is sometimes drawn in a pretty woman's little head! It is really fortunate that we sober-minded men do not allow our heart to run away with our head so easily. Otherwise we should come badly off, for you yourselves would certainly be the first to turn away from us with contempt, if we tried to purchase ...

— The Coming Conquest of England • August Niemann

... intelligent, independent, suggestive, and manifests an unaffected enthusiasm for social progress, and on the whole a just and sober apprehension of the conditions and essential features of such progress." —Professor H. SIDGWICK, in The ...

— Essentials of Economic Theory - As Applied to Modern Problems of Industry and Public Policy • John Bates Clark

Copyright © 2026 Dictionary One.com