intoxicated

1 of 2

adjective

in·​tox·​i·​cat·​ed in-ˈtäk-sə-ˌkā-təd 

1

: affected by alcohol or drugs especially to the point where physical and mental control is markedly diminished

especially : drunk

2

: emotionally excited, elated, or exhilarated (as by great joy or extreme pleasure)

… the traveler who has become intoxicated by the vision of Serengeti's exotic animals …

—Harold Hayes

intoxicatedly

in-ˈtäk-sə-ˌkā-təd-lē 

adverb

intoxicated

2 of 2

past tense and past participle of intoxicate entry 1

Synonyms of intoxicated

Adjective

• drunk
• drunken
• impaired

Examples of intoxicated in a Sentence

Adjective

He appeared to be very intoxicated.

Driving while intoxicated is illegal.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Investigators learned that Hellewell had offered to walk home with one of her male friends, who’d become overly intoxicated. — Natasha Holt, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026

Since at least the 1970s and 1980s, there have been incidents of gang rape of intoxicated, incapacitated women in fraternity houses. — Richard Hall, Time, 7 Oct. 2026

Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, was founded in 1980 by a mother whose 13-year-old daughter was killed by an intoxicated driver. — Kent Sepkowitz, STAT, 5 Oct. 2026

As the aforementioned teens found out, occupant monitoring systems can detect intoxicated passengers quite accurately. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, ArsTechnica, 1 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1576, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for intoxicated

• abbreviated
• accelerated
• accentuated
• accommodated
• acculturated
• accumulated
• acidulated
• adjudicated
• administrated
• adulterated
• affiliated
• agglomerated

Medical Definition

intoxicated

adjective

in·​tox·​i·​cat·​ed -sə-ˌkāt-əd 

: affected by an intoxicant and especially by alcohol