drunkard

American  

[druhng-kerd] / ˈdrʌŋ kərd /

noun

Disparaging and Offensive.

1. a habitual drinker of alcohol who is frequently intoxicated.

   Synonyms:

   tippler, sot, lush

   Antonyms:

   teetotaler

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drunkard British  

/ ˈdrʌŋkəd /

noun

1. a person who is frequently or habitually drunk

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Related Words

See inebriate.

Etymology

Origin of drunkard

First recorded in 1520–40; see origin at drunk, -ard

Example Sentences

With imaginative sympathy Tolstoy becomes a general in battle, a young girl at her first ball, a disillusioned prince, a drunkard, a lover—often amid a backdrop “laden with snow.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025

"Our boy deserves answers and we as a family deserve answers. Nathan wasn't a drunkard who'd go out and forget about everything. Nathan was really with it," she said.

From BBC • Mar. 1, 2025

Every episode is a tantalising prospect as the story gallops towards a conclusion like a windmilling drunkard, and none have disappointed so far.

From The Guardian • Aug. 21, 2017

I live alone in a ramshackle Austin house that, by all accounts, was constructed by a drunkard before the advent of the square right angle.

From Salon • Sep. 28, 2014

Govinda said: 'You speak thus, my friend, and yet you know that Siddhartha is no driver of oxen and a Samana is no drunkard.

From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse