Adjective

(er)

not drunk; not intoxicated

not given to excessive drinking of alcohol

* Book of Common Prayer

a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of Thy holy name

moderate; realistic; serious; not playful; not passionate; cool; self-controlled

* Dryden

No sober man would put himself into danger for the applause of escaping without breaking his neck.

* 2005 , .

Which is the finest and soberest state possible.

dull; not bright or colorful

* Milton

Twilight grey / Had in her sober livery all things clad.

subdued; solemn; grave

* Prior

What parts gay France from sober Spain?

* Alexander Pope

See her sober over a sampler, or gay over a jointed baby.

Adjective

(en adjective)

Having relevant and crucial value.

:

*

*:Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language, he expressed the important words by an initial, a medial, or a final consonant, and made scratches for all the words between; his clerks, however, understood him very well.

*{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)

, chapter=20 citation , passage=The story struck the depressingly familiar note with which true stories ring in the tried ears of experienced policemen.

*1988, (Robert Ferro), Second Son :

*:For this was the most important thing, that when a person felt strongly about an issue in life, it mustn’t be ignored by others; for if it was, everything subsequent to it would turn out badly, even though there should seem to be no direct connection.

*{{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author= Katrina G. Claw

, title= Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm , volume=101, issue=3, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.}}