soberadjective
uk/ˈsəʊ.bər/us/ˈsoʊ.bɚ/sober adjective (NOT DRUNK)
C2 not drunk or affected by alcohol:
Are you sober enough to drive, Jim?
I'd had no wine all evening so I was stone cold (= completely) sober.
More examples
- I hadn't drunk a thing - I was completely sober.
- I was too sober to enjoy the party.
- I'd better be sober by the time my mother gets here.
- He seemed fairly sober to me.
- I have to drive tonight so I'm sober.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Drunkenness & sobriety
- a drop too much (to drink) idiom
- alcoholic
- battered
- be as high as a kite idiom
- beer goggles
- binge drinking
- blasted
- bombed
- inebriate
- inebriated
- influence
- intoxicate
- intoxicated
- muzzy
- sloshed
- sober (sb) up
- sobriety
- sot
- soused
- whacked
See more results »
sober adjective (SERIOUS)
C2 serious and calm:
In fact the whole wedding was a sober affair - no dancing, just people standing around in groups chatting politely.
Anthony was in a very sober mood - I scarcely heard him laugh all night.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Lacking humour
- be no laughing matter idiom
- beyond
- beyond a joke idiom
- earnest
- humourless
- laugh
- lightly
- mirthless
- po-faced
- poker-faced
- rofl
- serious
- seriously
- solemnity
- sombre
- starchily
- starchy
- take a joke idiom
- turgid
See more results »
sober adjective (NOT BRIGHT)
C2 Clothes or colours that are sober are plain and not bright.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Colourless or causing colour to fade
- bleach
- colorless
- colourless
- discolour
- drab
- dull
- fade
- faded
- frost
- ghostly
- light
- muted
- paleness
- palish
- pastel
- sombre
- subdued
- washed out
- weather
See more results »
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Plain and ordinary
soberverb [ I or T ]
uk/ˈsəʊ.bər/us/ˈsoʊ.bɚ/to become more calm and serious, or to make someone do this:
News of the tragedy sobered us.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Lacking humour
- be no laughing matter idiom
- beyond
- beyond a joke idiom
- earnest
- humourless
- laugh
- lightly
- mirthless
- po-faced
- poker-faced
- rofl
- serious
- seriously
- solemnity
- sombre
- starchily
- starchy
- take a joke idiom
- turgid
See more results »
Phrasal verb(s)
sober (sb) up