- present participle of intoxicate.
intoxicating
Americanadjective
-
causing or capable of causing intoxication.
intoxicating beverages.
-
exhilarating; exciting.
an intoxicating idea.
adjective
-
(of an alcoholic drink) producing in a person a state ranging from euphoria to stupor, usually accompanied by loss of inhibitions and control; inebriating
-
stimulating, exciting, or producing great elation
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of intoxicating
First recorded in 1625–35; intoxicat(e) + -ing 2
Explanation
Something that's intoxicating is exciting and a bit disorienting. The intoxicating smell of your mom's lasagna might make you forget momentarily that you said you'd meet a friend for pizza. The adjective intoxicating is perfect for describing things that exhilarate or thrill you. The sound of an audience cheering for you at your accordion concert might feel intoxicating, and a ride on a roller coaster can also be wonderfully intoxicating. A more literal meaning of intoxicating is "making one drunk," and the word itself comes from a Latin root, "to poison."
Vocabulary lists containing intoxicating
The Haunting of Hill House
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The Battle of the Labyrinth
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The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
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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.
“We wanted adventure . . . to open our lives to surprise,” Mr. Bamberger recalls in this intoxicating tale of players and caddies, characters and courses.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
And yet the way of things at the top is under massive threat - and it's intoxicating.
From BBC • Feb. 28, 2026
Besson innovates with a subplot about Dracul’s foray into the world of perfume as he develops an intoxicating fragrance in Florence using French lavender, testing the potion on the pre-Revolution socialites in towering white-powdered wigs.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 6, 2026
This Christian-bro gym culture offers many young men an intoxicating sense of purpose, one in which the pursuit of conventional masculinity is given a kind of divine backing.
From Slate • Jan. 22, 2026
Some windows were open and from them wafted the intoxicating smell of fresh bread.
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
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.
