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sober

sober

286 3.2
Not having drunk alcohol or taken drugs
  • adjective
  • /ˈsoʊbər/
: 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-sober
vssober
  • Informal
4 6.9

Shows no signs of being drunk

can mean not affected without stressing 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
unintoxicated
vssober
1 6.7

Not affected by alcohol or drugs

has identical meaning and no added intensity
uninebriated
vssober
7.8

A person who is not affected by alcohol

has identical meaning and no extra emphasis
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

55 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
4 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
1 7.4
sober
286 3.2
tipsy
  • Informal
24 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'.