1
as in alcoholism
habitual or excessive drinking of intoxicants
unfortunately most of his time in college had been devoted to drunkenness and debauchery
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in inebriation
the condition of being drunk
officials warning that public drunkenness would not be tolerated, even during Mardi Gras
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of drunkenness
Begging or drunkenness could mean a week to a couple of months on a chain gang, grading and paving roads, fixing bridges, hauling debris, and otherwise helping to construct the fast-growing city.
—
JSTOR Daily, 21 Oct. 2025
Not even a day after Bethea’s denial of his confession due to drunkenness, a white jail guard said that Bethea had confessed privately to him.
—Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
The list of allowable grounds includes malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, habitual drunkenness, incompetence, or permanent inability to perform official duties.
—Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 Aug. 2025
Portalatin’s petition seeks to remove Wilder and Saenz using a statute in the Texas Local Government Code that allows for citizens to seek public officials’ removal due to incompetency, official misconduct or drunkenness both on and off duty.
—Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Aug. 2025
JSTOR Daily, 21 Oct. 2025
Not even a day after Bethea’s denial of his confession due to drunkenness, a white jail guard said that Bethea had confessed privately to him.
—Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2025
The list of allowable grounds includes malfeasance, misfeasance, neglect of duty, habitual drunkenness, incompetence, or permanent inability to perform official duties.
—Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 Aug. 2025
Portalatin’s petition seeks to remove Wilder and Saenz using a statute in the Texas Local Government Code that allows for citizens to seek public officials’ removal due to incompetency, official misconduct or drunkenness both on and off duty.
—Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for drunkenness
Noun
-
The Skakel children lost their mother to cancer in 1972 and their father struggled with alcoholism.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
3 Nov. 2025
-
This dreadful pseudo-action film stars Jessica Chastain as the titular hitwoman-with-a-conscience who is struggling with her past, with her family, with alcoholism, and so forth.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
30 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The coroner determined the cause of death to be mixed drug intoxication.—
Emma Hall,
Sacbee.com,
11 Nov. 2025
-
But Michael has also hit several roadblocks, with the King of Pop's past legal troubles haunting the production and Jackson's daughter, Paris, decrying its depiction of her late father, who died in 2009 from acute propofol intoxication.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Drunkenness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/drunkenness. Accessed 17 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share