sober

Meanings

Adjective

• Not drunk; not intoxicated.
• Not given to excessive drinking of alcohol.
• Moderate; realistic; serious; not playful; not passionate; cool; self-controlled.
• Dull; not bright or colorful.
• Subdued; solemn; grave.
• Poor; feeble.

Verb

• To make or become sober.
• To overcome or lose a state of intoxication.
• To moderate one's feelings.

Origin

• From Old French sobre, from Latin sōbrius, from se- + ebrius, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁egʷʰ- ("drink"). In the sense "not drunk," displaced native undrunken, from Old English undruncen.