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 The roots of the fall-out stretch back to 2019, before filming for the franchise’s fourth feature instalment began, when Margera signed a wellness agreement with the producers which committed him to sobriety amid his struggles with alcoholism. — Mattha Busby, Rolling Stone, 3 July 2026 Police say a field sobriety test was not conducted at the scene because the driver was injured. — Dejanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 2 July 2026 Instead, long-term stability often depends on whether individuals are able to rebuild emotional regulation and supportive relationships alongside sobriety itself, hence why family support also tends to play a major role in these kinds of practices. — Kaitlyn Gomez, Miami Herald, 29 June 2026 As his tussles with grief and sobriety and heartbreak appear in flashes, so do red and blue police lights. — Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 26 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for sobriety

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sobriety

Noun

Petey Halpin almost tagged Jackson for a two-out homer, the ball instead succumbing to gravity near the warning track.

— Zack Meisel, New York Times, 21 July 2026
Specialized software grows from complexity, compliance, data gravity and the need to make expensive organizations more productive.

— George Wells, Forbes.com, 21 July 2026

Definition of gravity

Noun

In the winter of 1920, the United States entered Prohibition in the United States after years of campaigning by temperance groups who believed alcohol sat at the root of many social ills.

— Kate Hardcastle, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026
Another was promoting temperance realizing alcoholism could destroy families.

— Myrna Petlicki, Chicago Tribune, 9 June 2026

Definition of temperance

Noun

The earnestness of this story just doesn’t work as well when everything is done in such blatantly artificial ways and for obvious pursuit of profit.

— Gregory Nussen, Deadline, 8 July 2026
Despite the seriocomic set-up, as Vibeke gets more unstable, Mengel refuses to play her irrationality for laughs, instead taking the more difficult route of earnestness.

— Jessica Kiang, Variety, 7 July 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