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 homes—
P. B. Gilliam
P. B. Gilliam
c
: resulting from or as if from intoxication
a drunken brawl
4
: unsteady or lurching as if from alcoholic intoxication
drunkenly
adverb
Synonyms
- besotted
- blasted [slang]
- blind
- blitzed [slang]
- blotto [slang]
- bombed
- boozy
- canned [slang]
- cockeyed
- crocked
- drunk
- fried
- gassed
- hammered [slang]
- high
- impaired
- inebriate
- inebriated
- intoxicated
- juiced [slang]
- lit
- lit up
- loaded [slang]
- looped
- oiled [slang]
- pickled
- pie-eyed
- plastered
- potted [slang]
- ripped [slang]
- sloshed [slang]
- smashed [slang]
- sottish
- soused
- sozzled
- squiffed
- squiffy
- stewed
- stiff
- stinking [slang]
- stoned
- tanked [slang]
- tiddly [chiefly British]
- tight
- tipsy
- wasted [slang]
- wet
- wiped out [slang]
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
Liam’s drunken comments about his ongoing divorce from Kensit turned into a free-for-all of abuse that overstepped the mark.
—Chris Wheatley, Longreads, 16 July 2024
Steer clear of floaties Last fall, through a fluke of timing, Aaron and I got to spend a few special days together in New York, going to Broadway shows and to a bar in Greenwich Village for a big drunken show-tunes singalong.
—Abby Margolis Newman, The Mercury News, 16 July 2024
The next night, the offenders were drunken dudes: different register and subject matter—golf, blackjack, the scene at the pool at the Wynn—but just as hard to tune out or counteract.
—Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 22 July 2024
Audience expectations meant that there were always phone calls to be made — a drunken call to a Chinese restaurant attempting to order moo goo gai pan is one of the series’ signature moments.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for drunken 
Chris Wheatley, Longreads, 16 July 2024
Steer clear of floaties Last fall, through a fluke of timing, Aaron and I got to spend a few special days together in New York, going to Broadway shows and to a bar in Greenwich Village for a big drunken show-tunes singalong.
—Abby Margolis Newman, The Mercury News, 16 July 2024
The next night, the offenders were drunken dudes: different register and subject matter—golf, blackjack, the scene at the pool at the Wynn—but just as hard to tune out or counteract.
—Nick Paumgarten, The New Yorker, 22 July 2024
Audience expectations meant that there were always phone calls to be made — a drunken call to a Chinese restaurant attempting to order moo goo gai pan is one of the series’ signature moments.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for drunken
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.
Dictionary Entries Near drunken
Cite this Entry
“Drunken.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drunken. Accessed 27 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
drunken
adjective
drunk·en
ˈdrəŋ-kən 
1
b
: having a habit of drinking too much alcohol
2
a
: resulting from being drunk
a drunken brawl
drunkenly
adverb
Medical Definition
drunken
adjective
drunk·en
ˈdrəŋ-kən
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
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