| 释义 |
▪ I. sober, a.|ˈsəʊbə(r)|
Forms: 4–6 sobre, sobur (6 Sc. sobor), 5 Sc. sobyre, -ire, 5–6 Sc. sobyr, -ir, 4– sober.
[a. OF. sobre (so mod.F., = It., Sp., Pg. sobrio), ad. L. sōbrius, which expresses the opposite of ēbrius drunk: the ulterior etym. is doubtful. The French word is also the source of MDu. and Du., MLG. and LG. sober.]
Various senses of the word tend to pass into or involve each other, and it is frequently difficult to decide which of these was principally intended by the writer.
I.
1. a. Moderate, temperate, avoiding excess, in respect of the use of food and drink; not given to the indulgence of appetite.
1338R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 311 Of Arthure men say..he was..sobre & honest. 1340Ayenb. 221 Sobre ine mete and ine drinke. 1390Gower Conf. I. 11 Thurgh hem that thanne weren goode And sobre and chaste. c1440Gesta Rom. ii. xxii. (Add. MS.), That we be sobre in mete and drynk, that we mowe come to everlastyng mede. 1530Palsgr. 324/2 Sobre of meate and drinke, sobre. 1606Chapman Gentl. Usher iii, Shees as discreete a dame As any in these countries, and as sober, But for this onely humour of the cup. 1677A. Horneck Gt. Law Consid. v. (1704) 246 How the sober nation many times conquers the more debauched and vicious.
b. Of diet, etc.: Moderate, temperate; characterized by the absence of excess or indulgence.
1382Wyclif Ecclus. xxxi. 37 Helthe is of soule and of body, sobre drink. 1538Starkey England ii. ii. 179 You schal see veray few of sobur and temperat dyat, but they haue helthy and welthy bodys. 1551T. Wilson Logike (1580) 35 Sober diet is good. 1629Hinde J. Bruen (1641) x. 33 And many other such naturall helpes may we use for our sober refreshing and delight. 1743Francis tr. Hor., Odes i. xx. 4 The Vintage of the Sabine Grape, But yet in sober Cups, shall crown the Feast. 1797–1805S. & Ht. Lee Canterb. T. I. 365 The sober cheer of which you have already partaken.
c. Similarly of conduct, inclination, etc.
1509Fisher Funeral Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 293 Her sobre temperaunce in metes & drynkes. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. ix. 1 Of all Gods workes..There is no one more faire and excellent Then is mans body,..Whiles it is kept in sober gouernment. 1746Francis tr. Hor., Sat. ii. iii. 8 When Saturn's jovial Feast Seem'd too luxuriant to your sober Taste, Hither you fled.
2. a. Not addicted to the use of strong drink; habitually temperate in, or abstaining from, the use of alcoholic liquor; abstemious.
1382Wyclif Titus ii. 2 That olde men be sobre, chast. c1386Chaucer Merch. T. 1533 Men moste enquere..Wher she be wys, or sobre, or dronkelewe. 1474Caxton Chesse ii. i. (1883) 21 That the dronken men shold be punysshyd And the sobre men preysed. 1706E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 39 He reckons a sober Chaplain in the Navy, to be a down-right Nonconformist. 1729Law Serious Call ii. (1732) 27 When she feels this intention she will find it as possible to act up to it, as to be strictly sober and chaste. 1815Elphinstone Acc. Caubul (1842) II. 39 They are a sober people, and have none of the vices of the Eusofzyes. 1890Besant Demoniac v. 50 A sober man himself, even a total abstainer.
transf.1590Sir J. Smyth Disc. Conc. Weapons Ded. 13 Archerie, which is the soberest exercise of all others to auoide drunkennes and other euills.
b. Of things: Not intoxicating.
a1795Cowper Moralizer Corrected 10 The sober cordial of sweet air.
3. a. Free from the influence of intoxicating liquor; not intoxicated; not drunk. Also fig.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 443, I appele..from Alisaundre þe dronke to Alisaundre þe sobre. 1387–8T. Usk Test. Love iii. viii. (Skeat) l. 48 Right as whan any person taketh willing to be sobre, and throweth that away, willing to be dronke. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 339 Thou sobre [L. sobrius] hast medled not only with thy Nece, but also with thy Sister and daughter. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. i. ii. 93 Very vildely in the morning when hee is sober, and most vildely in the afternoone when hee is drunke. a1637B. Jonson Goodwife's Ale in Athenæum (1904) 1 Oct., You easily may guesse I am not quite Growne sober yett by these poore lines I wright. 1691Hartcliffe Virtues 73 They thought, their Counsels might want Vigour, when they were sober, as well as Caution, when they had drank. 1782F. Burney Cecilia viii. i, ‘What little dog, Sir?’ cried Delville, who now began to conclude he was not sober. 1828Scott F.M. Perth xv, He is as sober as sleep can make him, after a deep drink. 1885Christ. World 15 Jan. 38/5 The Heathen Chinee..is generally civil and always sober.
fig.1390Gower Conf. III. 16 Than schalt thou have a lusti drauhte And waxe of lovedrunke sobre.
transf.1548Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Acts ii. 10 This was the sobre fulnesse of swete wine. 1831Scott Cast. Dang. v, The sober hours of the morning.
†b. Fasting. Obs.—1
1535Coverdale Dan. vi. 18 The kynge wente in to his palace, and kepte him sober all night, so that there was no table spred before him.
II.
4. a. Of demeanour, speech, etc.: Grave, serious, solemn; indicating or implying a serious mind or purpose.
13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 532 He..sayde to hem with sobre soun, ‘Wy stonde ȝe ydel þise dayez longe?’ 1390Gower Conf. III. 64 Sche him axeth..Fro whenne he cam, and what he wolde, And he with sobre wordes tolde. c1400Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton, 1483) v. x. 101 Pacyence come pryckyng with a sobre chere and hitte Ire in the helme. c1450in Aungier Syon (1840) 320 Ther songe schal be sadde, sober, ande symple withe out brekyng of notes, and gay relesynge. 1514Barclay Cyt. & Uplondyshman (Percy Soc.) 16 Tell forthe thy sentence, And I shall here the with sobre pacyence. a1548Hall Chron., Edw. IV, 40 To do his message..bothe with a bolde countenaunce, and a sober demeanure. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. v. ii. 76 Orl. Speak'st thou in sober meanings? Ros. By my life I do. 1633P. Fletcher Purple Isl. xi. ix, The Islands King with sober countenance Aggrates the Knights, who thus his right defended. 1697Dryden æneid i. 219 He sooths with sober words their angry mood.
b. In the phrases in sober earnest or † sadness.
Skelton Magnyf. 682 uses Sober Sadnesse as a name.
1593[see sadness 2 b]. 1615Bedwell Moham. Impost. iii. §108, I say..in sober sadnes, that thou and all such..ought to obserue it well. 1667Poole Dial. between Protest. & Papist (1735) 181 In sober Sadness, it is enough to make any serious Christian abhor your Church. 1819J. Keats Let. 21 Sept. (1931) II. 426 Isabella is what I should call..‘A weak-sided Poem’ with an amusing sober-sadness about it. 1836Pusey in Liddon Life (1893) I. xviii. 425 In sober earnest, I wish that we could have given you more time to think about it. 1865Tylor Early Hist. Man. i. 8, I have been startled by hearing it..urged in sober earnest very far outside the range of savage life.
5. a. Quiet or sedate in demeanour; of grave, dignified, or discreet deportment; serious or staid in character or conduct.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. xi. 121 Þenne schaltou seo Sobre And Symple-of-speche. c1393Chaucer Gentilesse 9 Truwe of his worde, sobur, pitous, and fre. c1400Destr. Troy 3791 Ulexes..was..Sad of his semblaundes, sober of chere. c1470Henry Wallace iii. 308 Perseys war trew,..Sobyr in pes, and cruell in battaill. 1509Hawes Past. Pleas. xvi. (Percy Soc.) 75 Be ye pacyent and sobre in mode. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. 66 A yonge chylde as sober as a man of fiftye yeres. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. iii. ii. 78 What damned error, but some sober brow Will blesse it? 1632Milton Penseroso 32 Com pensive Nun, devout and pure, Sober, stedfast, and demure. 1693tr. Blancard's Phys. Dict. (ed. 2), Medicus, a Physician, a Man highly skilful in the art of Physick, modest, sober and courteous. 1722De Foe Relig. Courtsh. i. ii. (1840) 43, I would have been the soberest, gravest, young fellow, that ever you saw in your life. 1783Crabbe Village ii. 13 Some of the sermon talk, a sober crowd. 1833H. Martineau Brooke Farm ix. 109 So sober in her manner, that no one set about guessing whom she would marry. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vii. II. 253 Sober people predicted that a girl of so little..delicacy would not easily find a husband.
b. Of bearing, movement, etc.: Showing no trace of haste, impatience, or the like.
c1350Will. Palerne 4988 Semblant made he sobur so as it him paide, but..in hert it liked him wel ille. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xix. (Christopher) 361 Cristofore þan of sobyre wil rase, & sad þame sone till: ‘frendis, tell me quhat ȝe seke!’ 1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. iii. 86 Our Newes shall goe before vs,..And wee with sober speede will follow you. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 380 Legions..move to meet their Foes with sober Pace. 1814Scott Ld. of Isles vi. xvi, Pacing back his sober way, Slowly he gain'd his own array.
6. a. Of natural forces († animals), etc.: Quiet, gentle, peaceful.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xviii. xcix. (Bodl. MS.), Whan he is tyed to a fige tree he leueþ al his fersenes & is sodenlich sobre. c1400Destr. Troy 2009 The se wex sober.., Stormes were stille. c1440Pallad. on Husb. i. 1031 A sobur brook amydde or ellis a welle. c1500Lancelot 2477 The soft dew one fra the hewyne doune valis..And throw the sobir and the mwst hwmouris Vp nurisit ar the erbis. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. II. 242 Thay sayled with a sober and safte wind. a1605Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 43 (Wreittoun), The aire was sober, soft and sweet. 1662Chandler Van Helmont's Oriat. 117 Sober rains are great with young of dew. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Scotch mist, a sober, soaking Rain. 1821Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 14 As sober evening sweetly siles along.
b. Of actions: Free from harshness or violence.
1455in Charters, etc. Edinb. (1871) 81 He salbe arrestit in sobir maner as said is. 1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 185 He salbe content of thair sobir and gracious governaunce. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 19 Thei by sobre meanes and gentle exhortation brought all the souldiers to the campe.
7. a. Of living, etc.: Characterized by temperance, moderation, or seriousness.
1552Bk. Com. Prayer, Gen. Conf., A godly, righteous, and sobre lyfe. 1565–6Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 418 Sanctandrois, quhair he wes in sobir and quiet maner, belevand to haif levit at Goddis peace. a1629Hinde J. Bruen iii. 10 Sober and single dancing of men apart. 1726De Foe Hist. Devil i. ix. (1840) 102 He led a very religious and sober life. 1781Cowper Hope 129 Men..Live to no sober purpose, and contend That their Creator had no serious end. 1810Crabbe Borough xi. 186 A pious friend, who with the ancient dame At sober cribbage takes an evening game. 1825Scott Talism. vii, The dog..looked as if he were ashamed that anything should have moved him to depart so far out of his sober self-control.
b. Of a book: Serious, moral.
1844Mrs. Houston Yacht Voy. Texas I. 48 Reading their Prayer Books, or some sober book from the ship's library.
8. a. Of a temperate or moderate disposition; not readily excited or carried away; of a calm, dispassionate judgement.
1564Brief Exam. 7* The sagest and sobrest in this common wealth..conceyue a better opinion of them. 1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ iii. iv. §13 It is the constant acknowledgement of all sober inquirers into the original of the Greeks. 1685Wood Life 12 Aug., The phanatiques (nay, some sober men) thinke that this army..is to bring in popery. 1718Free-thinker No. 77, His very Attempts..are sufficient to make sober Men dread the fatal Consequences. 1776Adam Smith W.N. ii. iv. (1869) I. 360 Sober people..would not venture into the competition. 1834H. Miller Scenes & Leg. xi. (1857) 157 The many soberer dreamers who were led to interpret amiss a surer word of prophecy. 1860Farrar Orig. Lang. ii. 38 Some of the most profound and sober intellects in Europe. a1862Buckle Civiliz. (1873) III. v. 392 The sober and patient spirit of the English intellect.
b. Not desirous of great things or high estate; humble, unambitious.
1659Hammond On Ps. xxxix. 7. 210 Fit to be the matter of a sober mans ambition. 1750Gray Elegy 74 Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife, Their sober wishes never learn'd to stray. 1790Burns Ballad Dumfries Election 132 The Robin in the hedge descends, And sober chirps securely.
9. a. Of colour, dress, etc.: Subdued in tone; not glaring, gay, or showy; neutral-tinted.
1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. i. ii. 132 Now shal my friend..offer me disguis'd in sober robes..as a schoole-master. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 832 Hungarians..attired in long sober garments of very fine purple cloth. 1667Milton P.L. iv. 599 Twilight gray Had in her sober Liverie all things clad. 1781Cowper Charity 262 Ev'ning in her sober vest Drew the grey curtain of the fading west. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho i, Till the shadows of twilight melted its various features into one tint of sober gray. 1856Stanley Sinai & Pal. ii. 139 This contrast between the brilliant colours of the flowers and the sober hue of the rest of the landscape. 1885Swainson Prov. Names Birds 195 The sober tints of its feathers in winter.
transf.1814Sporting Mag. XLIII. 258 His palet is sober and clean, his pencil animated.
b. Unexciting or uneventful; dull.
1838Prescott Ferd. & Isab. I. Pref. p. xiv, The many sober hours I have passed in wading through black-letter tomes. 1860Hawthorne Marble Faun (1879) II. xii. 127 That life of sober week days.
10. a. Free from extravagance or excess.
1607Shakes. Timon iii. v. 21 With such sober and vnnoted passion He did behooue his anger ere 'twas spent. 1794Burke Duration of Parliaments Wks. II. 484 So was Rome destroyed by the disorders of continual elections, though those of Rome were sober disorders. 1852Tennyson Ode Wellington 164 That sober freedom out of which there springs Our loyal passion for our temperate kings. 1856Macaulay Goldsm., Misc. Writ. (1882) 303/2 The mirth of the ‘Goodnatured Man’ was sober when compared with the rich drollery of ‘She Stoops to Conquer’.
b. Moderate, sensible; free from exaggeration; not fanciful or imaginative.
1619Gorges tr. Bacon's De Sap. Vet. 141 We must therefore with a sober and humble iudgement distinguish betweene humanitie and diuinitie. 1674Brevint Saul at Endor 115 They who will speak at a soberer rate, compare the Virgin to the Moon. 1771Fletcher Checks Wks. 1795 II. 260 An expression which may be used in a sober, gospel sense of the words. 1781Cowper Conversat. 65 Ev'n when sober truth prevails throughout, They swear it, till affirmance breeds a doubt. 1825Horne Introd. Script. (ed. 5) II. App. vi. 788 The notes..give a sober but practical and evangelical exposition of the allegory. 1889Jessopp Coming of Friars iv. 169 How much or how little of sober fact there may be in those thrilling incidents..it is impossible to say.
11. Guided by sound reason; sane, rational:
†a. Of persons. Obs.
1638R. Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. II) 24 They have painted mee..a mad man amongst the sober. 1657R. Carpenter Astrol. Ded., In a Bedlam-house the mad People have their sober Keepers. 1690Locke Hum. Und. ii. xxvii. (1695) 186 Humane Laws not punishing the Mad Man for the Sober Man's Actions. 1786Boswell Jrnl. Tour Hebrides (ed. 3) 213 Mad all his life, at least not sober.
b. Of the mind, discourse, etc.
1651Hobbes Leviath. i. viii. 36 If some man in Bedlam should entertaine you with sober discourse. 1672Sir T. Browne Let. Friend §22 [They are] content to think they dye in good understanding, and in their sober senses. 1729Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. 86 He was..in a state of mind sober enough to consider death and his last end. 1842S. Lover Handy Andy xliv, While the people in their sober senses..were taken in, the old lunatic..could look down and see [etc.].
III. 12. a. Of things: Small, insignificant, slight; paltry, trifling, poor. Chiefly Sc. ? Obs.
c1440Alph. Tales 228 He wrote vnto hym & said at he had done hym a litle sober trispas. 1523State Papers, Hen. VIII (1836) IV. 24 To breke the Chauncellour..fro the Governour, whiche Your Grace think wold bee doone with a sober thing. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 35 Sober goodis and geir with peace and concord growis ay mair and mair to great substance. 1602Campion Art Eng. Poesie 27 He..only makes Th' earth his sober Inne, but still heau'n his home. 1629Sir W. Mure True Crucifixe 2340 His greatest wealth a sober seamelesse coate. 1643Milton Divorce ii. xvi, When they cannot reap the sobrest ends of being together in any tolerable sort. 1796Statist. Acc. Scotl. XVII. 343 It requires the utmost exertion of his industry..to..afford a maintenance, very sober indeed, to his family.
†b. Moderate or few in number. Obs.
1513More Rich. III (1883) 15 The Queenes frendes..broughte the Kynge vppe..with a sober coumpanye. 1548W. Patten Exped. Scotl. E vij, We..ar here now but with a sobre cumpenie. [Margin.] Sober, is the proper terme whearby the Scottes doo signifie smal, litle, easy, or slender. 1581Reg. Privy Council Scot. III. 420 Thair being sober nowmer of personis thairon.
13. Sc. Of persons:
†a. Of low degree; humble, mean; of little importance or dignity. Obs.
1533Bellenden Livy iv. xvi. (S.T.S.) II. 107, I am bot ane sobir knicht of romane armye. 1565Extr. Burgh Rec. Aberd. (1844) I. 361 Of euery mariage, xviij d. of honest or reche folkis, and xij d. of sobir folkis. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 87 The iniurieis done to ony of them or the soberest of theme.
b. Of little use or worth.
1808Jamieson s.v., A sober servant, a very indifferent one.
c. In poor health; not very well.
1808Jamieson s.v., Very sober, ailing a good deal. 1882–in Eng. Dial. Dict.
IV.
14. Comb., chiefly parasynthetic, as sober-blooded, sober-clad, sober-coloured, sober-disposed, sober-hued, sober-living, sober-looking, sober-spoken, etc.; also sober-like, sober-sad, sober-wise.
1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. iii. 94 This same young *sober-blooded Boy doth not loue me.
1892T. Wright Blue Firedrake i, A replica of his own starched, sober-minded and *sober-clad self.
1851Borrow Lavengro I. xxv. 317 They were dressed in *sober-coloured habiliments. 1892‘Mark Twain’ Amer. Claimant xvi. 168 He drops into the stoodio as sober⁓colored as anything you ever see.
1775S. J. Pratt Liberal Opin. xiv. (1783) I. 125 To the great annoyance of many *sober disposed people of the parish.
1867A. J. Wilson Vashti xxxiv, To-day all *sober-hued reflections were exorcised.
1592W. Wyrley Armorie 117 He..backe his fighters drue Full *soberlike rash perils to eschue.
1960Times 4 Mar. 13/7 There is a hard-working, *sober-living, self-respecting section among them.
a1817Jane Austen Northang. Abb. (1818) I. xi. 183 The morrow brought a very *sober looking morning.
1863Hawthorne Our Old Home 77 A *sober-paced pedestrian.
1593Shakes. Lucr. 1542 So *sober-sad, so weary, and so mild. c1614Sylvester Micro-cosm. 374 If sober-sad, Merry Greeks mee Meacok call.
1647Cromwell in Stainer Sp. (1901) 44 Every *sober-spirited man.
1934W. S. Churchill Marlborough II. xiv. 304 These were very unusual expressions for the *sober-spoken and matter-of-fact Marlborough.
1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iii. ii. 11 Come ciuill night, Thou *sober suted Matron all in blacke. 1727–46Thomson Summer 746 The sober-suited songstress trills her lay. 1842Tennyson You ask me Why 6 It is the land..That sober-suited Freedom chose.
1850W. Collins Antonina iv, The *sober-tinted trees.
a1591H. Smith Wks. (1866) I. 471 He..teacheth them here not to be over⁓wise, but *sober-wise. a1618Sylvester Little Bartas 1053 Wks. (Grosart) II. 94 Sound is the soule, which resteth (sober-wise) Content in Thee.
▪ II. sober, v.|ˈsəʊbə(r)|
Forms: 4–6 sobre, 4– sober (5 soberyn), 4 sobur (5 sobor), 4–5 sobir (5 sobyr).
[f. sober a. Cf. late L. sōbriāre to make sober, OF. sobrier to live soberly.]
I. trans.
1. a. To reduce to a quiet or gentle condition; to appease, pacify.
c1375Sc. Leg. Saints x. (Matthew) 443 [He] gat be-for þam þat ware wrathe, & sobryt þam. c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 206 Sobre and appeese suche folk as falle in furye. c1440Alph. Tales 193 Sho sayd: ‘Dere Son! Meng þi rightwusnes with mercie!’.. And þan hur Son was soberd & sayd [etc.]. 1483Cath. Angl. 347/2 To Sobyr, mitigare, placare. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 341 With Pecht and Saxone first he hes maid peice, All outwart weir to sober and gar ceiss.
b. To moderate, quieten (one's feelings), by the exercise of self-control. Also refl.
1390Gower Conf. III. 332 With that he sobreth his corage And put awey his hevy chiere. c1400Destr. Troy 3379 Ses now of sorowe, sobur þi chere. c1430Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 7626 Sobre youre hert, ma dame, I you besech. 1530Palsgr. 724/1, I sober my selfe, I asswage myn anger.
c. refl. To keep (oneself) temperate.
1530Palsgr. 724/2 He can sober hym selfe in his dyete the best that ever I sawe.
2. a. To render grave or serious.
1726Pope Odyss. xxi. 322 They..sent him sober'd home, with better wit. 1823Rutter Fonthill 40 Sobered almost into a religious feeling, by the oratory and its concomitants. 1854Thoreau Walden xv. (1863) 299 Sobered into silence by the mystery. 1888Bryce Amer. Commw. III. lxxxvii. 161 Citizens who have been born to power..are sobered by their privileges.
b. To render less glaring or conspicuous.
1843Ruskin Arrows of Chace (1880) I. 6 Your critic has not allowed for the effect of time on its blues. They are now, indeed, sobered and brought down.
3. To make sober; to free from intoxication.
1709Pope Ess. Crit. 218 Shallow draughts intoxicate the brain, And drinking largely sobers us again. 1743Francis tr. Horace, Odes i. xxxvii. 19 Her, with Egyptian Wine inspir'd,..Augustus sober'd into Tears. 1865Pall Mall G. 23 Oct. 9 Bread and cheese and vinegar to sober A. B.
4. To bring down to a sober condition in some respect.
1838T. Mitchell Aristoph. Clouds 99 We shall not be surprised to find this fanciful system sobered down into the following observation. 1853Kane Grinnell Exp. xxxiii. (1856) 284 Her light mingles so with the twilight of the sun that the stars are quite sobered down. 1877O. W. Holmes How not to settle it 18 At times when..solemn speeches sober down a dinner.
II. intr.
5. To become sober, in various senses. Also with off and up. Hence as attrib. phr.
1820Scott Monast. iv, That was very natural;..but ye hae sobered since that. 1879G. Macdonald P. Faber II. i. 6 The colour sobered, but the glory grew. 1884[see sobering vbl. n.]. 1891Tuckley Under the Queen 244 This gives the topers time to sober off after the heavy siege of the night before. 1901Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 2 Nov. 5/2 The police yesterday gathered in an Indian woman who was rolling along in the street in a drunken condition with a baby in her arms. She was released as soon as she had sobered up. 1938E. Waugh Scoop iii. ii. 284 ‘Aunt Agnes and I very much fear that he has taken too much.’.. ‘Oh, he'll sober up,’ said Uncle Theodore, from deep experience. 1963Auden Dyer's Hand 261 When he [sc. Cassio] sobers up, his regret is..that he has lost his reputation. 1967Listener 23 Nov. 669/3 The National Federation of Licensed Victuallers announced that they're to back the search for a sober-up pill—an alcohol antidote.
6. To settle or quieten down in some respect.
1825Scott Betrothed Concl., The ecstasy of delight sobered down into a sort of tranquil wonder. 1844Dickens Mart. Chuz. viii, Merry is a little giddy, but she'll sober down in time. 1886Field 4 Sept. 349/1 Many a horse who will sober down if struck severely once only, will get furious if the punishment is repeated.
Hence ˈsobered ppl. a.; ˈsoberer; ˈsobering vbl. n. and ppl. a.; also with down.
1794Southey Botany Bay Ecl., Frederic 60 The hollow howl..Comes with no terror to the *sober'd sense. 1843Ruskin Mod. Paint. I. 109 Such a sobered high light. 1883Harper's Mag. July 212/2 Breathless hung the sobered throng On the magic of the song.
a1849J. C. Mangan Poems (1859) 80 Soother and *soberer of the spirit's fever.
a1510Douglas K. Hart 238 His wound to wesche, in *sobering of his sair. 1884Pall Mall G. 1 Aug. 3/3 An enterprising American has initiated a new system of what is called..‘sobering-up’.
1816Jane Austen Emma II. ii. 24 The *sobering suggestions of her own good understanding. a1817― Persuasion (1818) III. vii. 141 These were words which could not but dwell with her... They were of sobering tendency. 1831Society I. 286 The cogitations of the Countess had not been without their sobering effect on her temper. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xii. III. 146 Tidings of a very sobering nature had just reached him. 1975B. Meyrick Behind Light xiv. 183 The sobering-down item of community hymn singing.
Add: ˈsoberingly adv.
1923Glasgow Herald 22 Oct. 10 The Government has to steer its way amid the external obstacles of which Labour, if it were in power, would become soberingly aware by actual contact. 1989Time 20 Mar. 26/1 NSA has figures that make the insider threat look soberingly real. An agency log of cases involving computer crime or computer espionage showed that up to 90{pcnt} of known security breaches are the work of corporate or Government insiders. |