drunken

adjective

drunk·​en ˈdrəŋ-kən How to pronounce drunken (audio)
1
: drunk sense 1
a drunken driver
2
obsolete : saturated with liquid
3
a
: given to habitual excessive use of alcohol
b
: of, relating to, or characterized by intoxication
they come from … broken homes, drunken homesP. B. Gilliam
c
: resulting from or as if from intoxication
a drunken brawl
4
: unsteady or lurching as if from alcoholic intoxication
drunkenly adverb
drunkenness noun

Examples of drunken in a Sentence

The streets were filled with drunken revelers on New Year's Eve. He lives in an apartment with his drunken mother. He fell into a drunken stupor. A drunken brawl broke out at the bar.
Recent Examples on the Web Cora Owens took in her nephew after a drunken driver killed her sister in Gallup, New Mexico, a remote town surrounded by Navajo lands. USA TODAY, 3 Mar. 2024 Elle King is back on stage for the first time after her controversial and admittedly drunken performance during a Dolly Parton tribute held by the Grand Ole Opry at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium in January. Sadie Bell, Peoplemag, 3 Mar. 2024 Number of fatal car accidents involving a drunken driver (blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels of 0.08+) per 100,000 city residents: 19% of score. Tanya Wildt, Detroit Free Press, 29 Feb. 2024 The city, Vietnam’s financial center, has gotten more aggressive in targeting drunken driving in recent years by raising fines and confiscating vehicles. Chau Doan, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2024 Still, an investigation by the Colorado State Patrol went beyond drunken driving, seeking to understand what role the Tesla software may have played in the crash. Talia Trackim, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2024 On Monday morning, House Minority Leader Mike Lynch survived a no-confidence vote prompted by his secretive handling of a drunken driving arrest, but just barely — raising the possibility his Republican colleagues will try again to oust him. Seth Klamann, The Denver Post, 22 Jan. 2024 Jimmy Jenkins Tempe police officers pleaded for a judge to hold former Arizona prisons chief Charles Ryan accountable for engaging them in an hourslong, drunken standoff at his residence in 2022. The Arizona Republic, 26 Feb. 2024 The federal arrest affidavit for Diego Ibarra says that in September 2023, Athens-Clarke County Police charged him with drunken driving and driving without a license. Adam Shaw, Fox News, 25 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'drunken.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English druncen, from past participle of drincan to drink

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of drunken was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near drunken

Cite this Entry

“Drunken.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drunken. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

drunken

adjective
drunk·​en ˈdrəŋ-kən How to pronounce drunken (audio)
1
b
: having a habit of drinking too much alcohol
2
a
: resulting from being drunk
a drunken brawl
drunkenly adverb
drunkenness noun

Medical Definition

drunken

adjective
drunk·​en ˈdrəŋ-kən How to pronounce drunken (audio)
1
: drunk sense 1
a drunken driver
2
a
: given to habitual excessive use of alcohol
b
: of, relating to, or characterized by intoxication
drunken parties
c
: resulting from or as if from intoxication
a drunken stupor
drunkenly adverb
drunkenness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on drunken

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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