as in alcoholic
a person who makes a habit of getting drunk
an old souse who lumbered home with a full bottle of gin in him every night
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to wet
to make wet
a passing car barreled through the puddle and soused us good
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in to soak
to wet thoroughly with liquid
firefighters soused the neighboring houses so that they wouldn't catch fire as well
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of souse
Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Mars in your sign only happens every two years, souse this time wisely.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 3 Aug. 2025
For another Grand Turk specialty, chicken souse served with journey (called johnnycake on other Caribbean islands), Been suggests the deli at the Graceway Grand Turk or the Spot at the JAGS McCartney Airport, which serves the dish on Saturdays.
—Laura Begley Bloom, AFAR Media, 10 Mar. 2025
Taste traditional home cooking If fish is for Friday, the traditional Bajan dish of pudding and souse is the staple of Saturday.
—Patrick Scott, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025
The meat in souse is first tenderized through boiling and then marinated in lime, cucumbers, peppers and seasonings to pickled perfection.
—Essence, 25 Nov. 2024
Guests were treated to local specialties like fresh conch salad, crack conch fritters, curry goat, chicken souse and more, with a side of carnival vibes and traditional music and dance performances.
—Claudia Alarcón, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024
While assembling these souse and bakes, the complex history of the Caribbean comes into full view, as does the resilience of Grenadians who have turned the foods of their oppression such as saltfish into profoundly beautiful, delicious dishes.
—Lelani Lewis, Saveur, 29 Feb. 2024
The caterers served roti and jerk and pelau and souse.
—Victoria Brown, Harper's BAZAAR, 19 Feb. 2021
Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 3 Aug. 2025
The party scenes are tawdry, with flappers frenetically jiggling, their underwear peeking out and soused guests making spectacles of themselves.
—Danielle Teller, People.com, 10 Apr. 2025
The athletes were unwinding in the locker room when Coach Mark Few and his assistants charged in and began sousing them with ice-cold water.
—Andrew Keh, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2023
And then there’s the soy sauce that gets soused over everything to improve bad food in a cheap restaurant.
—Maggie Hiufu Wong, CNN, 5 Mar. 2023
Noun
Both actors were the sons of souses (Dick Hopkins, on retiring from the baking trade, opened a pub), and the stuff was in their bloodstream.
—Anthony Lane, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
Mars in your sign only happens every two years, souse this time wisely.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 3 Aug. 2025
For another Grand Turk specialty, chicken souse served with journey (called johnnycake on other Caribbean islands), Been suggests the deli at the Graceway Grand Turk or the Spot at the JAGS McCartney Airport, which serves the dish on Saturdays.
—Laura Begley Bloom, AFAR Media, 10 Mar. 2025
Taste traditional home cooking If fish is for Friday, the traditional Bajan dish of pudding and souse is the staple of Saturday.
—Patrick Scott, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025
The meat in souse is first tenderized through boiling and then marinated in lime, cucumbers, peppers and seasonings to pickled perfection.
—Essence, 25 Nov. 2024
Guests were treated to local specialties like fresh conch salad, crack conch fritters, curry goat, chicken souse and more, with a side of carnival vibes and traditional music and dance performances.
—Claudia Alarcón, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024
While assembling these souse and bakes, the complex history of the Caribbean comes into full view, as does the resilience of Grenadians who have turned the foods of their oppression such as saltfish into profoundly beautiful, delicious dishes.
—Lelani Lewis, Saveur, 29 Feb. 2024
The caterers served roti and jerk and pelau and souse.
—Victoria Brown, Harper's BAZAAR, 19 Feb. 2021
Verb
Mars in your sign only happens every two years, souse this time wisely.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 3 Aug. 2025
The party scenes are tawdry, with flappers frenetically jiggling, their underwear peeking out and soused guests making spectacles of themselves.
—Danielle Teller, People.com, 10 Apr. 2025
The athletes were unwinding in the locker room when Coach Mark Few and his assistants charged in and began sousing them with ice-cold water.
—Andrew Keh, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2023
And then there’s the soy sauce that gets soused over everything to improve bad food in a cheap restaurant.
—Maggie Hiufu Wong, CNN, 5 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for souse
Noun
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After finding out about the affair, her mother, a recovering alcoholic, relapsed and had to be hospitalized.—
Harriette Cole,
Mercury News,
1 June 2026
-
After the war, his goalscoring statistics were deleted and his achievements were discredited, with the Polish press labelling him as mentally unstable and an alcoholic.—
Tim Spiers,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
Aerate and immediately water lawns that are compacted, hard to wet or have nematode problems.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
30 May 2026
-
Water slowly and deeply to thoroughly wet the root zone.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
30 May 2026
Verb
-
For North American observers on the evening of May 30, the Blue Moon rises in the east as the sun dips below the horizon, with Antares glowing roughly 3 degrees to the lower left of Earth's satellite — less than the width of your three middle fingers held at arm's length against the night sky.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
29 May 2026
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Once the ride began, Ferrell pulled the nuggets out of his pants and even called for his camera man to give him some sauce to dip the nuggets into.—
Saleen Martin,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
Verb
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Interestingly, OriginTaste uses vacuum soaking to help rice absorb water more deeply.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
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Strawberries will absorb water after being washed or soaked, then begin to break down and turn mushy.—
Kimberly Holland,
Southern Living,
29 May 2026
Verb
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Their hoots and hollers drowned Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s explanation of how a title defense fell short.—
Joel Lorenzi,
New York Times,
31 May 2026
-
The Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office said the man drowned at the swimming area at Little Emily Lake Park.—
WCCO Staff,
CBS News,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
He was spotted ducking down in a field as traffic passed by and fled before he was found in a small cave, police have said.—
Marlene Lenthang,
NBC news,
1 June 2026
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In fact, the Snapdragon C laptops will have to duck under the Windows 11 recommended hardware specifications to work with 8GB of memory and the smaller storage footprint that has proven successful with the MacBook Neo.—
Ewan Spence,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
Verb
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Melissa slammed Jamaica after drenching southern Haiti and parts of the Dominican Republic with heavy rains before continuing on to Cuba.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
4 June 2026
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The bathrooms have spacious vanities stocked with Le Labo products in pump bottles, rain-drenching showers, and in many, soaking tubs that open to the guest room for natural light via sliding panels.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 June 2026
Verb
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Local organizations aim to preserve the lake’s pristine condition through monitoring, boat-washing stations, and other initiatives that minimize the impact of waste and control the spread of invasive species.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 June 2026
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Here, fabric care and pediatric experts share their best tips for washing baby and toddler clothing and bedding safely.—
Jamie Cuccinelli,
Martha Stewart,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Souse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/souse. Accessed 5 Jun. 2026.
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