sober
/ˈsoʊ.bɚ/adjective, verb
sober is spelled S-O-B-E-R: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, sober means “Not drunk; not intoxicated” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in sober?
| Letters | 5: S-O-B-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.7 times per million words; the 7,797th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is sober?
Sober appears 8.7 times per million words in written English, the 7,797th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce sober?
- /ˈsəʊ.bə(ɹ)/
- US /ˈsoʊ.bɚ/
Sober has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-sober.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with sober
Sounds like: soba (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with sober?
One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as sober from its last stressed vowel (/oʊbəɹ/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: brose.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of sober
- soberer comparative
- soberest superlative
- sobers present, singular, he/she/it
- sobering participle, present
- sobered participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does sober mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Not drunk; not intoxicated.
- 2
Not under the influence of any recreational drug.
- 3
Not given to excessive drinking of alcohol.
- 4
Moderate; realistic; serious; not playful; not passionate; cool; self-controlled.
- 5
Dull; not bright or colorful.
- 6
Subdued; solemn; grave.
- 7
ScotlandPoor; feeble.
verb
- 1
To make or become sober.
His expression sobered.
- 2
To overcome or lose a state of intoxication.
It took him hours to sober up.
- 3
To moderate one's feelings; to accept a disappointing reality after losing one's ability to believe in a fantastic goal.
Losing his job was a sobering experience.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Sober in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | sobre , cuver |
| German | nüchtern , ausnüchtern , besonnen, ernst , gedeckt , ernüchtern |
| Portuguese | sóbrio |
| Spanish | sobrio, sereno , apagado |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does sober come from?
Inherited from Middle English sober, from Old French sobre, from Latin sōbrius, from se- (“without”) + ebrius (“intoxicated”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁egʷʰ- (“drink”). In the sense "not drunk," displaced native undrunken, from Old English undruncen.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).