intoxicate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
intoxicates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
intoxicated,
past participle, past
-
intoxicating
present participle
-
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.
-
to make enthusiastic; elate strongly, as by intoxicants; exhilarate.
The prospect of success intoxicated him.
-
Pathology. to poison.
verb (used without object)
-
intoxicates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
intoxicated,
past participle, past
-
intoxicating
present participle
adjective
verb
-
(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
-
to stimulate, excite, or elate so as to overwhelm
-
(of a drug) to poison
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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intoxicatesimple
-
intoxicatessimple
-
have intoxicatedperfect
-
has intoxicatedperfect
-
am intoxicatingprogressive
-
are intoxicatingprogressive
-
is intoxicatingprogressive
-
have been intoxicatingperfect progressive
-
has been intoxicatingperfect progressive
Past
-
intoxicatedsimple
-
had intoxicatedperfect
-
was intoxicatingprogressive
-
were intoxicatingprogressive
-
had been intoxicatingperfect progressive
Future
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.
See Examples For:
Many of Mr. Coppola’s recollections are sensory: roasted peppers, his grandma’s sizzling meatballs, a neighbor’s homemade wine sweetened with peaches—“smells and tastes that intoxicate me to this day.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
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
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
“I think that’s why there’s all this frenzy: The sound dominates you and intoxicates you.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 9, 2024
His farcical mission is mostly true and just the sort of crowd-pleaser about lunkhead enlightenment that intoxicates the director Peter Farrelly in the wake of his Oscar for “Green Book.”
From New York Times ● Sep. 22, 2022
What is it about fiction that intoxicates you in ways that nonfiction can’t?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2016
The sweet smell of success intoxicates those who feel robbed of it.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 1, 2016
Above all, Gautier is enthralled with her expression, which “attracts you irresistibly and intoxicates you.”
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
In the past five years, at least three states — Minnesota, Michigan and Texas — have changed their laws so that they do not differentiate based on whether someone had voluntarily become intoxicated.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
In an interview with CBS, the BBC's US partner, Giuffra argued that his client, aged 20 at the time, was unable to provide consent because she was intoxicated when she arrived at the fraternity house.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Organizers say they occasionally draw people who are intoxicated, having a bad day, or simply looking for someone to vent at.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
The government did not allege that he was intoxicated while possessing the firearm, that he was addicted to marijuana, that he had ever threatened anyone, or that his gun ownership had resulted in any danger.
From Slate ● Jun. 26, 2026
“Maybe you are intoxicated after all. I am returning to my home from a visit to my grandfather’s house.”
From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper
If that’s true, may Workman’s sweet, intoxicating humor hasten its arrival.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
The song’s outro is equally as intoxicating, referencing the lyrics and melody of its apparent brother track, “Beat Up Chanel$.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
Whatnot struck gold by creating the perfect cocktail of the most intoxicating elements of 21st-century digital life.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
The cricket was exhilarating, the atmosphere intoxicating and results - for a short while - sensational.
From BBC ● Jun. 29, 2026
Many of these women were already involved in the temperance movement—the campaign to rid the nation of intoxicating liquor—which would also culminate in 1919.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
