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
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
Each glass of this nonalcoholic wassail is garnished with an apple slice and cinnamon stick.
—Bhg Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2023
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
By the era of Downton Abbey, the practice of drinking wassail had moved to Christmas and the roasted apples served only as flavoring and decoration.
—The Official Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook, Town & Country, 4 Nov. 2020
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
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
Each glass of this nonalcoholic wassail is garnished with an apple slice and cinnamon stick.
—Bhg Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2023
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
By the era of Downton Abbey, the practice of drinking wassail had moved to Christmas and the roasted apples served only as flavoring and decoration.
—The Official Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook, Town & Country, 4 Nov. 2020
Verb
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
-
Nora wants no part of the movie or of him, calling him a drunk who has caused the family nothing but pain.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
21 May 2025
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However, in a season 35 episode, Kristen Wiig portrayed the host as a bumbling and disoriented drunk, and Gifford was not happy.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
People.com,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Crumble Smith recommends using half your body weight as a starting point to figure out how many ounces per day to drink.—
Alyssa Hui-Anderson,
Verywell Health,
16 May 2025
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The 2018 vintage is exceptional and is drinking perfectly right now.—
Mike DeSimone,
Robb Report,
15 May 2025
Noun
-
The killing spree occurred as authorities were trying to hunt down William G. Bonin, a former Downey truck driver known as the Freeway Killer.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
13 May 2025
-
Dominguez has pleaded not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity in the 2023 spree.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
6 May 2025
Verb
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Most everything else can be consumed or binged at a viewer’s leisure.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
11 May 2025
-
Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who. geology natural disasters earth science 1 free article left Want More?—
Monica Cull,
Discover Magazine,
9 May 2025
Verb
-
After all that carousing, Chalamet, 29, managed to show up all smiles on race day on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in MiamI Gardens.—
Madeleine Marr,
Miami Herald,
5 May 2025
-
Some allegedly caroused until dawn.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
19 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wassail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wassail. Accessed 27 May. 2025.
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