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
That’s a bigger punchline than a punch-drunk Russian robot.
—
Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Nov. 2025
Candy thought so too, later recalling that the only hard part of filming the scene was doing it over and over again for Hughes and his punch-drunk crew.
—Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 7 Oct. 2025
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
Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Nov. 2025
Candy thought so too, later recalling that the only hard part of filming the scene was doing it over and over again for Hughes and his punch-drunk crew.
—Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 7 Oct. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for punch-drunk
Adjective
-
But plenty of people tell of being left dazed and destabilized by ayahuasca ceremonies and struggling to return to their previous lives; some make sudden life changes that only bring distress and further trauma.—
Mattha Busby,
Rolling Stone,
16 Jan. 2026
-
The slightly dazed look of someone who has just emerged from an eight-hour surgery.—
Matthew Kayser,
Ascend Agency,
16 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Olivier tried successfully to get the reader to understand how a gentle, pacific young man could come to kill more than a thousand people, and so capturing the tone and empathetic portrayal not only of Simo Häyhä and his colleagues but also of the often-bewildered Russian soldiers was essential.—
Erik Pedersen,
Oc Register,
30 Jan. 2026
-
The usually positive Gauff went negative, lacked energy and seemed bewildered and overwhelmed.—
Merlisa Lawrence Corbett,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
But someone in mental decline may go way out of their way or get very confused.—
Doug Turnbull,
AJC.com,
8 Feb. 2026
-
But Michele and Jesse Foster just seemed confused when the procession passed them on the street corner.—
John Ramos,
CBS News,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
As Chelsea’s staff and substitutes spilled onto the pitch to shake hands and celebrate their 3-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers, Cole Palmer seemed distracted — turning around, clearly looking for something.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Making compost tea is not a good option for the chronically distracted gardener.—
Paul Cappiello,
Louisville Courier Journal,
6 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Gianluigi Donnarumma looked stunned.—
Stuart James,
New York Times,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Playing 40 minutes of perhaps unfamiliar material before getting to the hits sounds challenging and, to be sure, some of the more lubricated audience members sat in stunned silence.—
Ross Raihala,
Twin Cities,
8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
That would be Gran Canaria, introduced in the film’s dizzy opening shot.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
5 Feb. 2026
-
But a week before the tour was set to open, Sergei felt dizzy at practice and suddenly lay down on the ice.—
Natasha O'Neill,
Vanity Fair,
3 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Punch-drunk.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/punch-drunk. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
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