intoxicant

[in-tok-si-kuh nt]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR intoxicant ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an intoxicating agent, as alcoholic liquor or certain drugs.

adjective

intoxicating or exhilarating: the clear, intoxicant air of the mountains.

RELATED WORDS

booze, drink, liquor, dope, narcotic

Nearby words

Origin of intoxicant

1860–65; < Medieval Latin intoxicant- (stem of intoxicāns), present participle of intoxicāre to poison. See in-², toxicant

Related formsnon·in·tox·i·cant, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for intoxicant

The use of cannabis as an intoxicant began to take hold in America in the early 1900s.
The Chronic Chronicles: A History of Pot|Roger Roffman|July 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Koon: Because I believed that this individual was under the influence of some intoxicant.
L.A. Riots Anniversary: Stacey Koon’s Disturbing Testimony|Christine Pelisek|April 28, 2012|DAILY BEAST
The delight in danger for its own sake is common to all human beings, to the young as an intoxicant, to the old as a drug.
The Sword of Deborah|F. Tennyson Jesse
Morphine and Cocaine Intoxication,—Morphine, an alkaloid of opium, is used very extensively as an intoxicant.
Essays In Pastoral Medicine|Austin Malley

Upon such occasions the only intoxicant was tobacco or dakka.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 7|Various
The first intoxicant drink made in this country was ale, and it was made from barley.
The Allinson Vegetarian Cookery Book|Thomas R. Allinson
Avoid tea—the tannin turns meat to leather and spoils digestion, but take little or no intoxicant.
Cornish Characters|S. Baring-Gould

British Dictionary definitions for intoxicant

intoxicant

noun

anything that causes intoxication

adjective

causing intoxication

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

Word Origin and History for intoxicant

intoxicant

"liquor," 1863; see intoxicate.

Medicine definitions for intoxicant

intoxicant

[ĭn-tŏk′sĭ-kənt]

n.

An agent that intoxicates, especially an alcoholic beverage.

Related formsin•tox′i•cant adj.