drunk
[ druhngk ]
/ drʌŋk /
adjective
being in a temporary state in which one's physical and mental faculties are impaired by an excess of alcoholic drink; intoxicated: The wine made him drunk.
overcome or dominated by a strong feeling or emotion: drunk with power; drunk with joy.
pertaining to or caused by intoxication or intoxicated persons.
noun
an intoxicated person.
a spree; drinking party.
verb
past participle and nonstandard simple past tense of drink.
Origin of drunk
usage note for drunk
Both
drunk and
drunken are used as modifiers before nouns naming persons:
a drunk customer; a drunken merrymaker. Only
drunk occurs after a linking verb:
He was not drunk, just jovial. The actor was drunk with success. The modifier
drunk in legal language describes a person whose blood contains more than the legally allowed percentage of alcohol:
Drunk drivers go to jail.
Drunken, not
drunk, is almost always the form used with nouns that do not name persons:
drunken arrogance; a drunken free-for-all. In such uses it normally has the sense “pertaining to, caused by, or marked by intoxication.”
Drunken is also idiomatic in such expressions as
drunken bum. See also
drink.
OTHER WORDS FROM drunk
half-drunk, adjective un·drunk, adjectiveWords nearby drunk
Example sentences from the Web for half-drunk
British Dictionary definitions for half-drunk (1 of 2)
half-drunk
adjective
partially intoxicated with alcohol
British Dictionary definitions for half-drunk (2 of 2)
drunk
/ (drʌŋk) /
adjective
intoxicated with alcohol to the extent of losing control over normal physical and mental functions
overwhelmed by strong influence or emotion
drunk with joy
noun
a person who is drunk or drinks habitually to excess
informal
a drinking bout
Word Origin for drunk
Old English
druncen, past participle of
drincan to drink; see
drink