drunk

[ druhngk ]
See synonyms for: drunkdrunks on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. being in a temporary state in which one's physical and mental faculties are impaired by an excess of alcohol; intoxicated: The wine made him drunk.

  2. overcome or dominated by a strong feeling or emotion: drunk with power; drunk with joy.

  1. pertaining to or caused by intoxication or intoxicated persons; drunken: The semester before I dropped out was just a blur of drunk hookups and missed classes.

noun
  1. an intoxicated person: A couple of rude, grabby drunks ruined the parade for her.

  2. Disparaging and Offensive. a habitual drinker of alcohol who is frequently intoxicated.

  1. a spree; drinking party: We rolled back into town after a four-day drunk, looking like hell.

verb
  1. past participle and nonstandard simple past tense of drink.

Origin of drunk

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English drunken, Old English druncen, past participle of drincan “to swallow liquid, drink”; see origin at drink

usage note For drunk

See drink.

confusables note For drunk

Both drunk and drunken are used as modifiers before nouns naming persons: a drunk customer; a drunken merrymaker.
Only drunk occurs after a linking verb: He was not drunk, just jovial. The actor was drunk with success. The modifier drunk in legal language describes a person whose blood contains more than the legally allowed percentage of alcohol: Drunk drivers go to jail.
Drunken, not drunk, is almost always the form used with nouns that do not name persons: drunken arrogance; a drunken free-for-all. In such uses it normally has the sense “pertaining to, caused by, or marked by intoxication.” Drunken is also idiomatic in such expressions as drunken bum or drunken sailor.

Other words for drunk

Opposites for drunk

Other words from drunk

  • half-drunk, adjective
  • un·drunk, adjective

Words Nearby drunk

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use drunk in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for drunk

drunk

/ (drʌŋk) /


adjective
  1. intoxicated with alcohol to the extent of losing control over normal physical and mental functions

  2. overwhelmed by strong influence or emotion: drunk with joy

noun
  1. a person who is drunk or drinks habitually to excess

  2. informal a drinking bout

Origin of drunk

1
Old English druncen, past participle of drincan to drink; see drink

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