as in dazed
suffering from mental confusion
punch-drunk from having stayed up all night, she struggled through the exam
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Recent Examples of punch-drunk
Guiducci arrives at a moment when some of that anger has subsided, and the punch-drunk culture seems counterintuitively eager to escape into nostalgia and tastemaking, splashy profiles, and — just sometimes — confrontational journalism.
—
Max Tani, semafor.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Having given us a punch-drunk vision of romantic dilemmas in her masterpiece of a debut, Song now delivers a more practical, hangover-adjacent look at how the human need for relationships gets turned into a bespoke luxury item.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 12 June 2025
Only the most punch-drunk partisan would give Republicans as much as a 50-50 chance of succeeding Gavin Newsom.
—Mark Barabak, Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2025
It’s better described as a series of springy volleys backward and forward through time—the movie ping-pongs between 2019 and 2006, with stops in between—that leave you feeling a little dizzy, even a bit punch-drunk.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 26 Apr. 2024
The notion that anyone might make a beeline to turn this punch-drunk nonsense into a new Statham franchise seems unlikely.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Jan. 2024
What’s going on is that the movie is getting punch-drunk.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 12 Mar. 2023
Max Tani, semafor.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Having given us a punch-drunk vision of romantic dilemmas in her masterpiece of a debut, Song now delivers a more practical, hangover-adjacent look at how the human need for relationships gets turned into a bespoke luxury item.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 12 June 2025
Only the most punch-drunk partisan would give Republicans as much as a 50-50 chance of succeeding Gavin Newsom.
—Mark Barabak, Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2025
It’s better described as a series of springy volleys backward and forward through time—the movie ping-pongs between 2019 and 2006, with stops in between—that leave you feeling a little dizzy, even a bit punch-drunk.
—Stephanie Zacharek, TIME, 26 Apr. 2024
The notion that anyone might make a beeline to turn this punch-drunk nonsense into a new Statham franchise seems unlikely.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Jan. 2024
What’s going on is that the movie is getting punch-drunk.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 12 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punch-drunk
Adjective
-
The same woman who used to have fun behind her camera now seems sleepy, dazed, and even drugged.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Some seemed visibly dazed to suddenly be back in their homeland.—
Patrick Oppmann,
CNN Money,
2 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Everybody seems bewildered by this news, his own wife most of all.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Layered in cream, bruised, bewildered, bald.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
An increasing number of boys are lonely, isolated and confused, wrestling with the aftermath of the #MeToo movement and the expectations of rigid masculinity, which has been widely characterized as toxic.—
Don Riddell,
CNN Money,
13 Sep. 2025
-
The young men in Bruins blue and gold staggering off the field afterwards dazed, confused.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
13 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Keen observers may witness small flocks of Phalaropes swimming in dizzy circles in the quiet ponds.—
Ut Community Press,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 Aug. 2025
-
There’s also something of the McIlroy highwire act with Alcaraz, especially in the breathless blitz of brilliance that rises to the top and then drops off from the dizzy heights of the rollercoaster.—
Tim Ellis,
Forbes.com,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Travelers fixate on aviation flight safety, but the real threats are on the ground — from escalator accidents and fake Wi-Fi to distracted walking and theft.—
Christopher Elliott,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
-
However, Garraty runs back and convinces his friend to walk a little further with him before taking advantage of McVries' distracted state to do what McVries had planned to do for him.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
12 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
The argument escalated into a physical brawl, with Lomax and Grossman wrestling on the ground in front of stunned festival staff and musicians.—
Jordan Runtagh,
PEOPLE,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Sure, shooting someone in the chest eventually does the job, but is it rewarded as well as a headshot, bear trap to the torso, or kicking someone’s face off when they’re stunned on the floor?—
Matt Gardner,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Punch-drunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punch-drunk. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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