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Synonyms

intoxication

American  
[in-tok-si-key-shuhn] / ɪnˌtɒk sɪˈkeɪ ʃən /

noun

  1. inebriation; drunkenness.

  2. an act or instance of intoxicating. intoxicating.

  3. overpowering exhilaration or excitement of the mind or emotions.

  4. Pathology. poisoning.

intoxication British  
/ ɪnˌtɒksɪˈkeɪʃən /

noun

  1. drunkenness; inebriation

  2. great elation

  3. the act of intoxicating

  4. poisoning

"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

Other Word Forms

  • self-intoxication noun
  • semi-intoxication noun

Etymology

Origin of intoxication

1375–1425; late Middle English < Medieval Latin intoxicātiōn- (stem of intoxicātiō ) a poisoning. See intoxicate, -ion

Vocabulary lists containing intoxication

"Watching New Love as It Sears the Brain," Vocabulary from the article

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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.

This rare and frequently misunderstood condition causes individuals to experience intoxication even though they have not consumed alcohol.

From Science Daily • Jan. 13, 2026

Swept up at the age of 6 in the national intoxication with truth-telling, young Misha devoured glasnost’s flagship weekly, Ogonyok.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 16, 2025

“I’ll say: ‘The feeling of this piece is intoxication, it’s cosmic.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 8, 2025

Throughout the trial, the Crown argued the woman's testimony was credible, that "intoxication does not equal unreliability" and that any inconsistencies in her testimony were minor.

From BBC • Jul. 24, 2025

The intoxication of success had evaporated; he was soberly his old self; and by contrast with the temporary balloon of these last weeks, the old self seemed unprecedentedly heavier than the surrounding atmosphere.

From "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley

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.