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.

The numbers get more sobering as one reads on.

From Barron's • Mar. 31, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

But he views the trajectory of icons like Hatton as a sobering warning.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

However, this sobering trip to the Nou Camp felt another timely reminder of the gap Newcastle have to bridge.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

The thief looked at the child and what he saw was very sobering to him.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy