sober up

Thân thiện

He drank some coffee to sober up after the party.

Definition

Verb: 1. To become sober after excessive alcohol consumption: To recover from the physical and mental effects of alcohol intoxication, returning to a clear-headed state. 2. To become more realistic or serious: To stop being frivolous, overly optimistic, or unrealistic and start thinking or behaving in a practical, serious way.

Usage Examples

• Literal meaning (after alcohol):
  • He drank a lot of coffee to help sober up before driving home.
  • The police officer told him to sleep it off and sober up.
• Figurative meaning (become realistic):
  • The initial excitement faded, and investors began to sober up about the risks.
  • She sobered up quickly when she saw the actual cost of her dream vacation.

Advanced Usage

• Transitive use (sober someone up):
  • To cause someone to become sober, either literally or figuratively.
  • Literal: A cold shower might help sober him up.
  • Figurative: The company's poor quarterly results sobered up the overly optimistic management team.

Variants and Related Words

• Sober (adjective): Not affected by alcohol; serious, sensible, or solemn.
  • He is a sober and responsible person.
• Sober (verb): To make or become sober (often used with "up" or used figuratively).
  • The bad news sobered the mood of the party.

Synonyms

• Become sober: Dry out, become clear-headed.
• Become realistic: Come to one's senses, get a grip, face facts.

Related Phrasal Verbs

• Sober up is itself a phrasal verb. Its usage is covered in the definitions and examples above.

Related Idioms

• A sobering thought: A fact or consideration that makes one think seriously.
  • It's a sobering thought that many species become extinct each year.

Học thuật

Verb

1. become more realistic
   • After thinking about the potential consequences of his plan, he sobered up
2. become sober after excessive alcohol consumption
   • Keep him in bed until he sobers up

Từ đồng nghĩa

• sober