Synonyms for sober
- adjective
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Sedate — subdued; solemn; grave
serious, somber US, sombre UK, solemn, grave, staid, demure, austere, thoughtful, earnest, pensive, severe, weighty, grim, philosophical, stern, grievous, saturnine, sedate dated, sad dated
2. Calm — moderate; realistic; serious; not playful; not passionate; cool; self-controlled
calm, dispassionate, cool, sane, unruffled, steady, judicious, dry, reasonable, moderate, self-possessed, temperate, rational, composed, quiet, collected, proper, imperturbable, tempered, sound, cold sober, mild
3. Subdued — dull; not bright or colorful
subdued, dull, bland, dreary, muted, colorless US, colourless UK, dingy, drab, leaden, dim, tame, dismal
4. Abstinent — not given to excessive drinking of alcohol
Definitions
- adj. 1
Not given to excessive drinking of alcohol.
- adj. 2
Moderate; realistic; serious; not playful; not passionate; cool; self-controlled.
- adj. 3
Dull; not bright or colorful.
- adj. 4
Subdued; solemn; grave.
Related words
- Word family
- soberize soberly soberness
- Phrases
- cold sober sober up sober down stone-cold sober
- Is a kind of
- abstemious self-abnegatory temperate
Choose the right word
Sober supposes the absence of all exhilaration of spirits, and is opposed to gay or flighty; as, sober thought.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Example sentences
- solemn Ziri and Rima shook hands and swore a solemn oath.
- somber We heard somber hollow sounds from the cave.
- demure Skura's style of dress was described as demure.
- calm Take a seat in the armchair and calm down a while.
- dispassionate Tom always sounds so dispassionate, no matter what he's talking about.
By length
- 3 letters
- sad1, dry1, dim1
- 4 letters
- cool1, calm1, mild1, dull1, grim1, sane1, tame1, drab1
- 5 letters
- sound1, quiet2, grave1, stern1, bland1, muted2, dingy2, staid1
- 6 letters
- proper2, severe2, steady2, solemn2, dismal2, dreary2, somber2, sombre, sedate2, demure2, leaden2
- 7 letters
- serious3, earnest2, subdued2, austere2, weighty2, pensive2
- 8 letters
- moderate3, composed2, rational3, tempered2, grievous2, teetotal
- 9 letters
- collected3, temperate2, colorless3, judicious3, unruffled3, abstinent3, saturnine, undrunken, unplayful
- 10 letters
- reasonable4, thoughtful2, colourless
- 11 letters
- abstentious
- 12 letters
- uninebriated
- 13 letters
- philosophical5, dispassionate4, imperturbable, unintoxicated
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (quiet2 = 2 syllables).