Meaning & use
drunk
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Having had so much alcohol that your speech, balance and judgment are affected.
Grammar: Used after a linking verb: he was drunk, or before a noun: a drunk driver.
Patterns
- drunk on something
- get drunk
He was too drunk to walk home safely.
Two drunk passengers were asked to leave the train.
She got drunk at the wedding and sang loudly.
adjectiveafter a verbfigurative
Overcome by strong excitement, success or power.
Grammar: Followed by with or on: drunk with joy.
Patterns
- drunk with something
- drunk on something
The winners were drunk with happiness.
He felt drunk on the sudden attention.
nouncountableinformaldisapproving
A person who is drunk, or who often gets drunk.
Grammar: Can sound unkind when used about a person who often drinks.
A drunk was singing outside the pub at midnight.
The police helped the drunk into a taxi.
Word forms
| comparative | drunker |
|---|---|
| superlative | drunkest |
| plural noun | drunks |
Common combinations
- get drunk
- They got drunk on cheap wine and regretted it.
- blind drunk
- The sailors came back blind drunk.
- drunk driving
- Drunk driving causes many accidents each year.
- dead drunk
- He was dead drunk and slept on the sofa.
- drunk on power
- After the promotion he seemed drunk on power.
Synonyms and how they differ
- intoxicated
- Intoxicated is formal and appears in police and medical reports.
- tipsy
- Tipsy means only slightly drunk, and sounds cheerful.
- inebriated
- Inebriated is formal and sometimes humorous in everyday talk.
- plastered
- Plastered is slang for very drunk and is not for formal writing.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: drunk or drunken? drunk or drank?
drunk vs drunken
Drunken goes before a noun (a drunken brawl); drunk is used after a verb (he was drunk), though drunk driver is common.
drunk vs drank
Drank is the past tense of drink, while drunk is the past participle or adjective: he has drunk water, he is drunk.
Practice
He was too ___ to drive, so we called him a taxi.
Choose one answer.
After 'was too', an adjective is needed, and drunk fits. 'Drunken' normally goes before a noun, and 'drank' is a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “drunk”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.