drunken

adjective drunk·en \ ˈdrəŋ-kən \

Definition of drunken

1 :drunk 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

c :resulting from or as if from intoxication

a drunken brawl

4 :unsteady or lurching as if from alcoholic intoxication

—

drunkenly

adverb

—

drunkenness

play \-kən-nəs\ noun

See drunken defined for English-language learners

See drunken defined for kids

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 of drunken from the Web

Kaiju, 1004 E Oak St., is launching an indoor drunken yard sale the first Saturday of each month.

— dana mcmahan, The Courier-Journal, "Milkwood, Kaiju and Village Anchor offer fun for those 21 and older," 5 July 2017
Watch for drunken drivers Texas DPS troopers are partnering with local and county law enforcement agencies across the state to beef up enforcement this holiday.

— star-telegram, star-telegram.com, "July Fourth: What’s closed, open and more," 2 July 2017
A drunken stupor isn’t exactly an option here; luckily, Louis-Dreyfus is smart enough to turn even feeble straight lines into funny anecdotes.

— chris smith, Daily Intelligencer, "Single (Not that there’s anything wrong with that!)," 30 June 2017
The biggest gain was posted by Elgin police, who have made a concerted effort to come down hard on drunken drivers in the last two years, according to AAIM.

— bill bird, Naperville Sun, "Naperville near top in DUI arrests in Illinois for 16th year," 29 June 2017
Filming has resumed, following the conclusion of the studio’s investigation into a drunken hook-up between Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson that raised questions of consent.

— vanityfair.com, "Bachelor in Paradise Damage Control Only Makes the Show Look Worse," 27 June 2017
Given that a law made by two drunken [people] is respected, why should a law that is commanded by religion be rejected by your side?

— steven a. cook, The Atlantic, "Turkey's Identity Crisis," 25 June 2017
The trial of three Toronto police officers accused of sexually assaulting a woman in January 2015 is coming to a close, and in his final arguments, the lawyer for one of the officers reportedly argued that drunken consent is still consent.

— brittney mcnamara, Teen Vogue, "Why You Can't Always Consent to Sex If You're Drunk," 21 June 2017
The mythical drunken watermelon is the unicorn of tippling American youth.

— m. carrie allan, charlotteobserver, "Resolved: Plugging a watermelon with vodka doesn’t work; this does," 20 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'drunken.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.