One day last year, Christine Mosley woke up with the kind of hangover that inspires self-reckoning. That day, she decided she would never drink again.

A few days later, Ms. Mosley, 31, found herself with a cocktail in hand. For her at least, she said, “it’s really not that simple.”

More recently, Ms. Mosley, a business marketing manager in San Francisco, has tried to be not fully sober, but “soberish,” by reducing her alcohol consumption and paying closer attention to its effects on her mood and health.

“I want to emphasize the ‘-ish’ part — not to be dry but to increase the number of dry days,” she said.

The designation, sometimes also referred to as “sober curious,” has caught on in the United States and elsewhere as the health risks of alcohol become better understood. “Soberish” can mean drinking more mindfully, drinking less or avoiding alcohol altogether but not other drugs. At parties, people often reach for seltzers and nonalcoholic beers, and more people are using apps that help them track and reduce their alcohol intake.

The idea has been popularized by confessional podcasts like Soberish Uprising and social media accounts that advocate a soberish lifestyle.