intoxicate
Americanverb (used with object)
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to affect temporarily with diminished physical and mental control by means of alcoholic liquor, a drug, or another substance, especially to excite or stupefy with liquor.
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to make enthusiastic; elate strongly, as by intoxicants; exhilarate.
The prospect of success intoxicated him.
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Pathology. to poison.
verb (used without object)
adjective
verb
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(of an alcoholic drink) to produce in (a person) a state ranging from euphoria to stupor, usually accompanied by loss of inhibitions and control; make drunk; inebriate
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to stimulate, excite, or elate so as to overwhelm
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(of a drug) to poison
Other Word Forms
- intoxicable adjective
- intoxicative adjective
- intoxicator noun
Etymology
Origin of intoxicate
1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin intoxicātus, past participle of intoxicāre to poison. See in- 2, toxic, -ate 1
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.
The dirty laundry triggered an avalanche of press coverage when the album arrived in November, but the songs have lingered as everyone remembers just how well Allen can craft an intoxicating pop hook.
From BBC
Until “Anónimo,” the Argentine avant-garde had never sounded so intoxicatingly sensuous.
From Los Angeles Times
To actually feel intoxicated, a chimp would need to eat so much fruit that its stomach would become painfully distended.
From Science Daily
His trial at the Old Bailey painted a picture of a man who had been intoxicated by power since his teenage years.
From BBC
While on equally hypnotic tracks like “Cheap Hotel” and “Sushi,” she commands the heavily-layered soundscape with an intoxicating sense of recklessness.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
