sobering

[soh-ber-ing] / ˈsoʊ bər ɪŋ /

ADJECTIVE

serious

Synonyms

STRONGEST

dangerous deep difficult far-reaching grievous important major meaningful severe significant tough urgent

WEAK

arduous fateful fell formidable grave grim hard heavy laborious meaning business menacing momentous no joke no laughing matter of consequence operose out for blood playing hard ball pressing smoking strenuous strictly business threatening ugly unamusing unhumorous worrying

Antonyms

STRONGEST

calm easy facile friendly insignificant little meaningless minor small trivial unimportant worthless

WEAK

flippant funny happy light unserious

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Stratford’s assessment of where U.S.-China relations stand today is sobering.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

The statistics are sobering; if you're carrying a transceiver there is a 70% chance you'll survive an avalanche, according to emergency crews.

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2026

These are dutiful, sobering acts of mourning — Seftel’s is the probable awardee.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

Even in a flight to safety, if spirits start to stumble, the message from staples could quickly turn sobering.

From Barron's • Feb. 17, 2026

Only after Aaron was on his way across the Atlantic did George and Dick receive a sobering letter from Conibear.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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