Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“I think that belief was intoxicating to the players.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
No two GeoCities pages looked alike, and exploring these wildly unique webpages was intoxicating.
From The Verge ● Aug. 3, 2022
The scene was intoxicating and beautiful to watch, just dangerous-looking enough to seem fun.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2022
The promise was intoxicating: If every gene specified a particular protein in a cell, then once we'd mapped them all, we'd eventually be able to identify the genetic cause for every attribute of a person.
From Salon ● May 30, 2021
She wondered if she’d ever get out alive; but it was intoxicating, to speak like that to this man.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
