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sober

sober

269 3.2
Not having drunk alcohol or taken drugs
  • adjective
  • /ˈsoʊbər/
translation icon : sobrio
  • She celebrated her fifth year of being sober at a recovery meeting with friends.
  • stay sober
  • clean and sober
  • sober living

All you must do is stay sober for one more day.

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Examples

  • I have to stay sober enough to drive the RV.

  • Because if I was sober, could I do this?

  • All you must do is stay sober for one more day.

  • How many people became sober and then went back?

  • And I always think as long as I stay sober, I can do anything.

  • And as Amy likes to say, if she can get sober, anyone can get sober.

  • I'm just trying to stay sober for tomorrow, you know?

  • There are halfway houses, there are sober living houses.

  • How do we know that it's safer to drive sober than to drive falling down drunk?

  • He definitely is, and I'm really proud of him being sober for so long.

Synonyms

cold sober
vssober
  • Informal
4 6.2

Completely free of alcohol or drugs

does not always stress absolute total absence
stone cold sober
vssober
  • Informal
3 5.6

Not affected by alcohol or drugs at all

can mean not affected without stressing total absence
stone-sober
vssober
  • Informal
1 6.9

Shows no signs of being drunk

can mean not affected without stressing total absence
uninebriated
vssober
7.8

A person who is not affected by alcohol

has identical meaning and no extra emphasis
unintoxicated
vssober
6.7

Not affected by alcohol or drugs

has identical meaning and no added intensity
unsmashed
vssober
  • Slang
8.8

Not drunk or affected by alcohol

also includes drugs as possible causes, not only alcohol
unfried
vssober
  • Slang
8.8

Alert and not tired or drunk

specifies only being free from chemical influence

Antonyms

1.6

Having too much alcohol makes your body and mind not work normally

44 4.2

Unable to control your actions because of alcohol or drugs

Idioms

stone cold sober
  • Informal
3 5.6

Not affected by alcohol or drugs at all

Compounds

cold sober
  • Informal
4 6.2

Completely free of alcohol or drugs

stone-sober
  • Informal
1 6.9

Shows no signs of being drunk

A calm, serious talk where people think carefully and avoid strong feelings

1 5.1

A serious face that shows little or no emotion

How Sober

teetotal
7.4
sober
269 3.2
tipsy
  • Informal
18 4.8
drunk
1.6

Surface Forms

sober positive

Etymology

Sober comes from the Latin word sobrius, which meant 'not drunk' and is the source of the English word sobriety, with parts like se- 'without' and ebrius 'drunk'. So sober today still means 'not under the influence'.