drunk

1 of 3

past participle of drink

drunk

2 of 3

adjective

1
a
: having the faculties impaired by alcohol
b
: having a level of alcohol in the blood that exceeds a maximum prescribed by law
legally drunk
2
: dominated by an intense feeling
drunk with rage
3
: relating to, caused by, or characterized by intoxication : drunken
drunk driving

drunk

3 of 3

noun

1
: a period of drinking to intoxication or of being intoxicated
a 2-day drunk
2
: one who is drunk
especially : drunkard

Examples of drunk in a Sentence

Adjective I don't like being around drunk people. She was so drunk that she could barely walk. I was drunk and couldn't think straight. We got drunk on wine. Noun you can't trust anything that old drunk says after a weeklong drunk he was unable to remember anything See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
The drunk night chronicle is a glimpse of where their sound is going. Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 29 Nov. 2023 The real gag is catching the rare spectacle of drunk Sheldon, who burps the number of Pi and throws up on the clown decorations in the bathroom. Shay Spence, Peoplemag, 22 Nov. 2023 Just offscreen, as Lee is unfurling the emotional climax of the film, there were hordes of drunk bar patrons. Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 Nov. 2023 Officers were told a person who appeared to be drunk had entered the hotel and stolen a bag of chips from its food market. Malia Mendez, Los Angeles Times, 18 Nov. 2023 Rongen drinks a lot, although he’s never seen especially drunk. Common Sense Media, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023 At least a couple of drunk males in the audience seemed to be using the unhinged setting to rub against women in the audience and basically engage in the precise kind of toxic behavior the band is criticizing. Ellise Shafer, Variety, 19 Oct. 2023 Getting drunk during an interview with Playboy magazine Failing to complete a two-point conversion against the Wilcox High… Read more The Fox From Dragons, which will be published in March by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. Devin Johnston, Harper's Magazine, 25 Oct. 2023 An attorney says that his client was incredibly drunk while trying to kill himself. Common Sense Media, Washington Post, 13 Oct. 2023
Noun
Often high on drugs or drunk, Carlson hurled curses and insults at them, her followers have said. Kc Baker, Peoplemag, 29 Nov. 2023 In the heat of the actors strike that had ground Hollywood to a halt for months, Fran Drescher told the 34 members of SAG-AFTRA’s negotiating committee a story about an aikido student in Japan who gets into a tiff with a drunk on a train. Katie Kilkenny, The Hollywood Reporter, 8 Nov. 2023 Still another associate recalls a night where Evans spent a solid 20 minutes genially persuading a belligerent drunk to vacate the lobby of the Beatles’ recording studio. Jordan Runtagh, Peoplemag, 31 Oct. 2023 Play/Pause Volume Embed Read by the translator. remains unwashed, and the waves sleep; reeds bend in no wind like drunks. Taras Shevchenko, The New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2023 The woman released the duck, which waddled away as through drunk, and grabbed another. Mathias Énard, Harper's Magazine, 11 Oct. 2023 Congress has been littered with racists and drunks and bribe-takers throughout its history. Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 7 Aug. 2023 The wrecked and ransacked homes, the bodies of their inhabitants — broken, mad, dead, or dead drunk: This is the Ireland O’Casey sees in the wake of another glorious revolution. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 13 Oct. 2023 According to a 2023 Study 21 European Cities That Are Even More Charming in Winter 13 Best Hotels in Porto LA: As for the best place to make friends and maybe get a little drunk, the dining car. Caitlin Morton, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Sep. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'drunk.' 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

Adjective

Middle English drunke, alteration of drunken

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Noun

1779, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of drunk was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near drunk

Cite this Entry

“Drunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drunk. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.

Kids Definition

drunk

1 of 3

past participle of drink

drunk

2 of 3 adjective
1
: having consumed alcohol to the point that normal thinking or acting becomes difficult or impossible
2
: controlled by some feeling as if under the influence of alcohol
drunk with power
3
b
: occurring while drunk
drunk driving

drunk

3 of 3 noun
1
a
: a person who is drunk
b
2
: a period of drinking too much : spree

Medical Definition

drunk

1 of 3

past part of drink

drunk

2 of 3 adjective
1
: having the faculties impaired by alcohol
2
: of, relating to, or caused by intoxication : drunken
convicted of drunk drivingTime

drunk

3 of 3 noun
1
: a period of drinking to intoxication or of being intoxicated
2
: one who is drunk
especially : drunkard

More from Merriam-Webster on drunk

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