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drunk

[ druhngk ]
/ drʌŋk /
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See synonyms for: drunk / drunks on Thesaurus.com

adjective
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.
overcome or dominated by a strong feeling or emotion: drunk with power; drunk with joy.
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
verb
past participle and nonstandard simple past tense of drink.
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Origin of drunk

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.

words often confused with 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 FROM drunk

half-drunk, adjectiveun·drunk, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use drunk in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for drunk

drunk
/ (drʌŋk) /

adjective
intoxicated with alcohol to the extent of losing control over normal physical and mental functions
overwhelmed by strong influence or emotiondrunk with joy
noun
a person who is drunk or drinks habitually to excess
informal a drinking bout

Word Origin for drunk

Old English druncen, past participle of drincan to drink; see drink
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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