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
Explanation
Alcohol's effect on most people, especially when they drink too much of it, is to intoxicate them. If you're not used to drinking, a glass of Champagne may intoxicate you. Beer, wine, and hard liquor can all intoxicate those who drink them. It's worth noting that in the fifteenth century, intoxicate meant "to poison." A less poisonous way to intoxicate is to "fill with delight or happiness." A gorgeous summer day might intoxicate you, or winning first prize in poetry contest.
Vocabulary lists containing intoxicate
"Dr. Heidegger's Experiment" by Nathaniel Hawthorne
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The Wind in the Willows
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Norse Mythology
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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.
Drawing breath for speech seems to intoxicate him.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 27, 2023
In other words, it seems to intoxicate them in a way that makes them vulnerable.
From Salon • Aug. 18, 2022
These aren’t pleasant feelings, but any strong and pure distillation, even of fear, can intoxicate us.
From Washington Post • Aug. 28, 2020
Like a Seder, the show seems designed to exhaust or intoxicate its audience into absorbing Mac’s radical rereading of history, while also keeping everyone awake long enough to melt a crowd into a community.
From New York Times • Dec. 4, 2019
The tropics will intoxicate you with the sweetness of frangipani flowers and lay you down with the sting of a viper, with hardly room to breathe in between.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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.
