as in dazed
suffering from mental confusion
punch-drunk from having stayed up all night, she struggled through the exam
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Recent Examples of punch-drunk
The yen looked punch-drunk on Wednesday after a sudden spill overnight, pressured by wide interest rate differentials between Japan and the rest of the world.
—
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
19 June 2026
That’s a bigger punchline than a punch-drunk Russian robot.
—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Nov. 2025
Candy thought so too, later recalling that the only hard part of filming the scene was doing it over and over again for Hughes and his punch-drunk crew.
—
Lizz Schumer,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
Guiducci arrives at a moment when some of that anger has subsided, and the punch-drunk culture seems counterintuitively eager to escape into nostalgia and tastemaking, splashy profiles, and — just sometimes — confrontational journalism.
—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Having given us a punch-drunk vision of romantic dilemmas in her masterpiece of a debut, Song now delivers a more practical, hangover-adjacent look at how the human need for relationships gets turned into a bespoke luxury item.
—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
12 June 2025
Only the most punch-drunk partisan would give Republicans as much as a 50-50 chance of succeeding Gavin Newsom.
—
Mark Barabak,
Mercury News,
30 Apr. 2025
It’s better described as a series of springy volleys backward and forward through time—the movie ping-pongs between 2019 and 2006, with stops in between—that leave you feeling a little dizzy, even a bit punch-drunk.
—
Stephanie Zacharek,
TIME,
26 Apr. 2024
The notion that anyone might make a beeline to turn this punch-drunk nonsense into a new Statham franchise seems unlikely.
—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
10 Jan. 2024
Lim Hui Jie,
CNBC,
19 June 2026
That’s a bigger punchline than a punch-drunk Russian robot.
—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Nov. 2025
Candy thought so too, later recalling that the only hard part of filming the scene was doing it over and over again for Hughes and his punch-drunk crew.
—
Lizz Schumer,
PEOPLE,
7 Oct. 2025
Guiducci arrives at a moment when some of that anger has subsided, and the punch-drunk culture seems counterintuitively eager to escape into nostalgia and tastemaking, splashy profiles, and — just sometimes — confrontational journalism.
—
Max Tani,
semafor.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Having given us a punch-drunk vision of romantic dilemmas in her masterpiece of a debut, Song now delivers a more practical, hangover-adjacent look at how the human need for relationships gets turned into a bespoke luxury item.
—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
12 June 2025
Only the most punch-drunk partisan would give Republicans as much as a 50-50 chance of succeeding Gavin Newsom.
—
Mark Barabak,
Mercury News,
30 Apr. 2025
It’s better described as a series of springy volleys backward and forward through time—the movie ping-pongs between 2019 and 2006, with stops in between—that leave you feeling a little dizzy, even a bit punch-drunk.
—
Stephanie Zacharek,
TIME,
26 Apr. 2024
The notion that anyone might make a beeline to turn this punch-drunk nonsense into a new Statham franchise seems unlikely.
—
David Rooney,
The Hollywood Reporter,
10 Jan. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punch-drunk
Adjective
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Like Mahrez, Austria’s Marcel Sabitzer seemed slightly dazed following the topsy-turvy turn of events.
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Humans of all ages, in fact, stare dazed into glowing screens.
Adjective
-
Fido was fine, if a little bewildered, and in February 1973, the board lifted its book bans.
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At the risk of sounding less like a columnist and more like a bewildered bystander … what the heck happened?
Adjective
-
Keke Palmer was confused about why she wasn't asked to emcee the event.
-
The competing corridors have left them confused, forcing them to navigate not only the treacherous waters – facing threats from sea mines, aerial drones, and Revolutionary Guard patrol boats – but also the complex political currents across the strait.
Adjective
-
Some big rubber balls had been tossed in to keep them distracted.
-
The problem, Larson said, is that Congress was highly distracted at the time with passing the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Adjective
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And when Cape Verde’s Deroy Duarte evened the score with a right footed shot from a difficult angle at the 59-minute mark, the stunned stadium went silent, minus two small spirited clots of Cape Verde fans in the East end zone seats.
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Fans jumped up and down after Folarin Balogun punched in what seemed to be the game’s first goal near the 31-minute mark, then expressed stunned disbelief when the striker was deemed offsides.
Adjective
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People with heat exhaustion typically feel dizzy, start sweating profusely, have a fast pulse and can feel sick.
-
The 77-year-old American Idol judge complained about feeling dizzy during the opening night of the Sing a Song All Night Long Tour featuring Earth, Wind & Fire.
Cite this Entry
“Punch-drunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punch-drunk. Accessed 4 Jul. 2026.
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