sober

See also: Sober and sõber

English

Etymology

(deprecated template usage) From Old French sobre, from Latin sōbrius, from se- (“without”) + ebrius (“intoxicated”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁egʷʰ- (“drink”).

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊbə(r)
• Homophone: soba (in non-rhotic accents)

Adjective

sober (comparative soberer, superlative soberest)

1. not drunk; not intoxicated
2. not given to excessive drinking of alcohol
   • 1890, John Charles, The Godly, Righteous, And Sober Life
3. moderate; realistic; serious; not playful; not passionate; cool; self-controlled
   • 1680, John Dryden, Ovid's Epistles

     No sober man would put himself into danger for the applause of escaping without breaking his neck.

   • 2005, Plato, Sophist. Translation by Lesley Brown. 230d.

     Which is the finest and soberest state possible.

   • 1678, Bunyan, The Pilgrim's Progress, Second period

     God help me to watch and to be sober.

4. dull; not bright or colorful
   • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost:

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

5. subdued; solemn; grave
   • c. 1716, Matthew Prior, Alma

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

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

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

6. (Scotland) poor; feeble

Synonyms

• See also Thesaurus:sober
• See also Thesaurus:serious
• See also Thesaurus:moderate

Antonyms

• (not drunk): drunk

Derived terms

• ensober
• sober as a judge
• soberer
• soberize
• soberly
• soberness
• sobersides
• sober up
• unsober
• wanton kittens make sober cats

 

Translations

not drunk

• Arabic: صَاحٍ (ṣāḥin)
• Armenian: սթափ (hy) (stʻapʻ)
• Azerbaijani: sərxoş (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), 冷静 (zh) (lěngjìng)

• Czech: střízlivý m, střízvý (dated)
• Danish: ædru (da)
• Dutch: nuchter (nl)
• Erzya: тетява (ťeťava)
• Esperanto: sobra (eo)
• 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)
• Irish: neamh-mheisciúil
• Italian: sobrio (it) m
• Japanese: シラフ (shirafu)
• Karakhanid: اَذِغْ (aδïɣ)
• Luxembourgish: eniichter
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Macedonian: трезен (trezen), трезвен (trezven)
• 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
• Polish: trzeźwy (pl)
• Portuguese: sóbrio (pt)
• 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)
• Spanish: sobrio (es), sereno (es)
• Swedish: nykter (sv)
• Thai: ไม่เมา, สร่างเมา
• Turkish: ayık (tr)
• Ukrainian: твере́зий (tverézyj)
• Welsh: sobr (cy)
• Yiddish: ניכטער (nikhter)

not given to excessive drinking of alcohol

• Catalan: sobri (ca)
• Danish: ædruelig
• Dutch: nuchter (nl)
• Finnish: raitis (fi)
• French: sobre (fr)
• Greek: εγκρατής (el) m (egkratís)
• Irish: neamh-mheisciúil
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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)
• 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)
• Italian: sobrio (it) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 真面目 (ja) (まじめ, majime)
• Norman: sobre m or f (Jersey)
• Old English: gedrēoh
• 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)
• Norman: sobre m or f (Jersey)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• 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.

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

Translations

make or become sober

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 醒酒 (zh) (xǐngjiǔ)

• Czech: vystřízlivět pf
• Esperanto: sobrigi
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: selvittää (fi)
• German: ernüchtern (de)
• Japanese: 酔いを醒ます (yoi wo samasu)
• Swedish: nyktra (sv), nyktra till

overcome intoxication

• Czech: vystřízlivět pf
• Esperanto: sobriĝi
• Finnish: selvitä (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• French: cuver (fr)
• German: ausnüchtern
• Swedish: nyktra (sv), nyktra till

Anagrams

• Beros, Boers, Boser, Brose, Serbo-, bores, brose, robes

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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
Indefinte 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.

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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

Inflection

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	—

Synonyms

• eenvoudig

Antonyms

• overdadig