as in drunk
a bout of prolonged or excessive drinking
woke up with a terrible headache from a wild wassail the night before
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Recent Examples of wassail
Elaine Rewolinski, jsonline.com, 17 Dec. 2025
Since 2022, cider sommelier Dan Pucci and Madeleine Osborn have hosted their idiosyncratic take on an English wassail celebration, the ancient tradition of visiting apple orchards in the wintertime to fête the trees and promote a prosperous harvest in the year to come.
—Amiel Stanek, Bon Appétit, 26 Nov. 2024
The French enjoy their vin chaud, the British their wassail.
—Anna Lee Iijima, Chicago Tribune, 12 Nov. 2024
Enjoy Harvest Cider, special wassail cocktails, live music, costume contest and the Blessing of the Trees.
—Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 14 Jan. 2024
One of the most traditional holiday drinks of them all, wintertime wassail gets a contemporary update in this flavorful drink recipe.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 15 Nov. 2023
One variation involves people traveling door-to-door singing traditional songs and spreading good wishes while carrying a bowl of wassail.
—Bhg Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2023
Reception from 5-8 p.m. (360 K St.; see Facebook event) Anchorage Distillery — Paintings and prints by Laura Dewey with a limited special edition cocktail menu, including whiskey wassail.
—Anchorage Daily News, 4 Nov. 2021
Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 24 Dec. 2025
In addition to the live music in Caldwell Hall, there's also an opportunity to join an English tradition: wassailing around the apple tree, a ritual to inspire a bountiful harvest in the year ahead.
—Jim Riccioli, jsonline.com, 19 Nov. 2025
Image Image In the village of Midsomer Norton, about 50 miles away, 100 people or so turned out for a community event to wassail three small apple trees in the local park.
—Stephen Castle, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025
This drink was often used as part of wassailing in England.
—Bhg Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2023
Reisinger's Apple Country, located in Watkins Glen on Seneca Lake, also has a wassailing event on the horizon.
—Jennifer Nalewicki, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Jan. 2018
There was toasting and wassailing all around And cinnamon sticks in yule logs were wrapped and bound.
—Marc Bona, cleveland.com, 26 Oct. 2017
Noun
Roast pork, chicken or Cornish game hen were common as the main course, served with hearty breads, roasted vegetables, salad, dessert and plenty of wassail to drink.
—Elaine Rewolinski, jsonline.com, 17 Dec. 2025
Since 2022, cider sommelier Dan Pucci and Madeleine Osborn have hosted their idiosyncratic take on an English wassail celebration, the ancient tradition of visiting apple orchards in the wintertime to fête the trees and promote a prosperous harvest in the year to come.
—Amiel Stanek, Bon Appétit, 26 Nov. 2024
The French enjoy their vin chaud, the British their wassail.
—Anna Lee Iijima, Chicago Tribune, 12 Nov. 2024
Enjoy Harvest Cider, special wassail cocktails, live music, costume contest and the Blessing of the Trees.
—Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 14 Jan. 2024
One of the most traditional holiday drinks of them all, wintertime wassail gets a contemporary update in this flavorful drink recipe.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 15 Nov. 2023
One variation involves people traveling door-to-door singing traditional songs and spreading good wishes while carrying a bowl of wassail.
—Bhg Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2023
Reception from 5-8 p.m. (360 K St.; see Facebook event) Anchorage Distillery — Paintings and prints by Laura Dewey with a limited special edition cocktail menu, including whiskey wassail.
—Anchorage Daily News, 4 Nov. 2021
Verb
Some speculate that wassailing predates Christianity in the region; others note its association with the Christian holiday of Twelfth Night.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 24 Dec. 2025
In addition to the live music in Caldwell Hall, there's also an opportunity to join an English tradition: wassailing around the apple tree, a ritual to inspire a bountiful harvest in the year ahead.
—Jim Riccioli, jsonline.com, 19 Nov. 2025
Image Image In the village of Midsomer Norton, about 50 miles away, 100 people or so turned out for a community event to wassail three small apple trees in the local park.
—Stephen Castle, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025
This drink was often used as part of wassailing in England.
—Bhg Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2023
Reisinger's Apple Country, located in Watkins Glen on Seneca Lake, also has a wassailing event on the horizon.
—Jennifer Nalewicki, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Jan. 2018
There was toasting and wassailing all around And cinnamon sticks in yule logs were wrapped and bound.
—Marc Bona, cleveland.com, 26 Oct. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wassail
Noun
-
Our purpose was not to get the campus drunk.—
Peter Hessler,
New Yorker,
31 May 2026
-
But while following up the usual drunk-and-disorderlies and petty thefts that come with his new territory, Stilwell gets a report of a body found weighed down at the bottom of the harbor.—
Nellie Andreeva,
Deadline,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
As the two men drink their first soda for nearly a year and wistfully speak of clean clothes, another first-person view drone is heard overhead in the city of Kramatorsk, sending locals scattering.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026
-
This is a time when TCM has never been more popular, with practices including acupuncture, as well as cupping, herbal medicine, and other somatic therapies (or something as simple as drinking warm water) going mainstream in the Western world.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
29 May 2026
Noun
-
Six people were killed in a shooting spree at multiple locations across an Iowa city in an apparent domestic dispute, according to police.—
Jessie DiMartino,
ABC News,
1 June 2026
-
Culatta expected there would be a reckoning around ed tech after schools went on a massive spending spree on devices and software during the Covid pandemic.—
Tyler Kingkade,
NBC news,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
Instead of inserting full news archives into its app, Spotify has strategically focused on the kind of stories its target audience is already likely to binge, such as deep dives into music, pop culture, entertainment and tech.—
Frank Racioppi,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
-
Audiences had binged Tiger King in 2020, following the lead-up to Joe Exotic’s conviction for hiring someone to kill Carole Baskin, his competitor in the big cat world.—
Andrea Marks,
Rolling Stone,
25 May 2026
Verb
-
Three sitting rooms are complemented by a further three members’ social spaces for carousing in, concealed behind a subtle screen (here, DJs including Goldierocks make appearances, and mobile snaps are banned; staff politely place a sticker over mobile camera lenses).—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
18 May 2026
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Bethany takes the explosive event as a sign to reunite with her old girlfriend Nel (Lena Góra), and carouse across lofts, clubs, and back alleys, leaving her erstwhile partner stranded.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
17 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wassail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wassail. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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