1
: drunk sense 1
a drunken driver
2
obsolete
: saturated with liquid
3
a
: given to habitual excessive use of alcohol
b
: of, relating to, or characterized by intoxication
they come from … broken homes, drunken homes—
P. B. Gilliam
P. B. Gilliam
c
: resulting from or as if from intoxication
a drunken brawl
4
: unsteady or lurching as if from alcoholic intoxication
drunkenly
adverb
Synonyms
- besotted
- blasted [slang]
- blind
- blitzed [slang]
- blotto [slang]
- bombed
- boozy
- canned [slang]
- cockeyed
- crocked
- drunk
- fried
- gassed
- hammered [slang]
- high
- impaired
- inebriate
- inebriated
- intoxicated
- juiced [slang]
- lit
- lit up
- loaded [slang]
- looped
- oiled [slang]
- pickled
- pie-eyed
- plastered
- potted [slang]
- ripped [slang]
- sloshed [slang]
- smashed [slang]
- sottish
- soused
- sozzled
- squiffed
- squiffy
- stewed
- stiff
- stinking [slang]
- stoned
- tanked [slang]
- tiddly [chiefly British]
- tight
- tipsy
- wasted [slang]
- wet
- wiped out [slang]
Examples of drunken in a Sentence
The streets were filled with drunken revelers on New Year's Eve.
He lives in an apartment with his drunken mother.
He fell into a drunken stupor.
A drunken brawl broke out at the bar.
Recent Examples on the Web
For this mother, a combination of antifungal medication, a lower carbohydrate diet and a change to her treatment for UTIs led to an end of the drunken spells, according to the case report.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 3 June 2024
And, like many drunken fights, some allegations – like how the groom, Corey Parker, became involved in a fight about flirting that did not allegedly involve him – seem unclear even to police.
—Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 28 May 2024
One drunken night in 1944, Mr. Carr killed his longtime predator in Riverside Park, stabbing him with his Boy Scout knife and rolling him into the Hudson River.
—Penelope Green, New York Times, 24 May 2024
As the show moves into its second act, the focus shifts away to the forester and his drunken comrades for too long, and the buoyance of the barnyard and forest animals is sorely missed.
—Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 13 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for drunken 
Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 3 June 2024
And, like many drunken fights, some allegations – like how the groom, Corey Parker, became involved in a fight about flirting that did not allegedly involve him – seem unclear even to police.
—Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 28 May 2024
One drunken night in 1944, Mr. Carr killed his longtime predator in Riverside Park, stabbing him with his Boy Scout knife and rolling him into the Hudson River.
—Penelope Green, New York Times, 24 May 2024
As the show moves into its second act, the focus shifts away to the forester and his drunken comrades for too long, and the buoyance of the barnyard and forest animals is sorely missed.
—Duante Beddingfield, Detroit Free Press, 13 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for drunken
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'drunken.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near drunken
Cite this Entry
“Drunken.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drunken. Accessed 8 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
drunken
adjective
drunk·en
ˈdrəŋ-kən 
1
b
: having a habit of drinking too much alcohol
2
a
: resulting from being drunk
a drunken brawl
drunkenly
adverb
Medical Definition
drunken
adjective
drunk·en
ˈdrəŋ-kən
1
: drunk sense 1
a drunken driver
2
a
: given to habitual excessive use of alcohol
b
: of, relating to, or characterized by intoxication
drunken parties
c
: resulting from or as if from intoxication
a drunken stupor
drunkenly
adverb
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share