alcoholic
Americanadjective
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of, relating to, or of the nature of alcohol.
The fermented milk has a mildly alcoholic flavor.
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containing or using alcohol.
The bar serves beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages.
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caused by alcohol.
alcoholic fermentation.
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of or like a person with alcoholism or alcohol use disorder.
She hadn’t seen or spoken to her alcoholic aunt in over a decade.
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preserved in alcohol.
Tissue shrinking in alcoholic specimens did not affect nuclear composition.
noun
noun
adjective
Sensitive Note
See addict.
Synonym Usage
See inebriate.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of alcoholic
Explanation
Something that's alcoholic contains alcohol. At a party, the host may offer a pitcher of alcoholic punch and another of non-alcoholic punch. Use alcoholic to describe something that has alcohol in it, or otherwise has to do with alcohol. Alcoholic cider, for example, is fermented, and drinking too much can be intoxicating. The noun alcoholic means a person who's dependent on alcohol, whose drinking has become compulsive and unhealthy. This meaning developed in the late 1800s, from the earlier term alcoholist. The group Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935 for alcoholics to help themselves and others quit drinking.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In December, the California State Auditor said a supervisor wrongly let four Alcoholic Beverage Control managers commute in their state vehicles, at an estimated cost of $16,200.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
The law will be enforced by the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which issues liquor licenses for bars and nightclubs in California.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2025
"Alcoholic beverages sales in Japan will continue to decline because we cannot go against the shrinking population, which means we cannot expect the Japanese market to grow massively," he said.
From BBC • Jun. 5, 2024
The two off-duty agents who shot the shooter were from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission and the Houston Police Department.
From Salon • Feb. 12, 2024
Alcoholic beverages are not necessary to insure an adequate secretion of milk.
From Dietetics for Nurses by Proudfit, Fairfax T.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
