SOBRIETY Synonyms: 73 Similar and Opposite Words

sobriety

noun

sə-ˈbrī-ə-tē

Definition of sobriety

as in intentness

a mental state free of jesting or trifling an abrupt sobriety fell over the group when they heard the news

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in temperance

voluntary restraint in the satisfaction of one's appetites although she can afford to wear anything, she practices a sartorial sobriety that bespeaks class and taste

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of sobriety According to police, Larkin showed signs of impairment at the crash and failed sobriety tests. — Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 16 Aug. 2026 On the previous episode of Lipps Service, Sublie’s Jakob Nowell spoke about carrying forward his late father Bradley’s legacy, finding his own voice, overcoming imposter syndrome, sobriety and the future of Sublime. — Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 14 Aug. 2026 The admission, an aside in a wide-ranging interview, raised eyebrows in the recovery community given the star’s very public embrace of sobriety after joining a 12-step program following his 2016 split from wife Angelina Jolie. — Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026 Back in 2022, Barrymore reflected on her journey to sobriety in a personal essay that was published in her magazine Drew. — Clare Fisher, PEOPLE, 13 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for sobriety

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sobriety

Noun

The technology uses rapid rotation to create centrifugal forces far stronger than normal gravity, helping separate radioactive materials more efficiently.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 18 Aug. 2026
Performing complex biological work is no longer limited to people whose advanced education and professional occupations would impress on them the gravity of their responsibilities to do no harm.

— Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of gravity

Noun

The temperance movement was in full swing then, and the aversion to alcohol was especially strong in the rural South.

— Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Aug. 2026
If decisiveness has crowded out temperance, spend ninety days deliberately slowing your first response.

— Mary Crossan, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026

Definition of temperance

Noun

That the earnestness the genre requires galls us cynics, who love to hide in our books, away from all those pesky bodies in the first place?

— Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 13 Aug. 2026
There are hints of Gilmore Girls in the show’s quaint setting and generational role reversal, traces of Dawson’s Creek in its adolescent earnestness.

— Judy Berman, Time, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of earnestness

Noun

By May 2026, all 11 of xAI’s original cofounders had departed the company, a cascade that began in earnest in February when Tony Wu, described as one of the most operationally central cofounders, announced his resignation.

— Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 24 June 2026
Modern viticulture began in earnest here in the 1970s before blossoming in the ’90s.

— Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 22 June 2026