Word family noun drink drinker drinking drunk drunkenness adjective drunk drunken verb drink adverb drunkenly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishdrunkdrunk1 /drʌŋk/ verb x-refthe past participle of drinkdrunkdrunk2 ●●○ S3 adjective 1 [not before noun]MIDRUNK unable to control your behaviour, speech etc because you have drunk too much alcohol OPP sober You’re drunk. David would get drunk and I would have to take him home and put him to bed.drunk on He was drunk on beer and whisky.blind drunk British English (=very drunk) All she wants to do is get blind drunk.drunk as a lord (also drunk as a skunk) (=very drunk) He turned up one morning, drunk as a lord.2 → being drunk and disorderly3 → drunk on/with somethingTHESAURUSdrunk [not usually before noun] having drunk too much alcohol so that your behaviour and mental processes are affectedGary was too drunk to remember what had happened that night.I just hope they don’t get drunk and start fighting.drunk drivingThe police are going to crack down on drunk drivers.tipsy/merry [not before noun] slightly drunkAfter the second glass of wine I was feeling a little tipsy.pissed [not usually before noun] British English informal not polite drunk – this word is very common in spoken British English, but it is not politeDon’t listen to him – he’s pissed.intoxicated [not before noun] formal drunkHe was arrested for driving while intoxicated.paralytic/legless [not before noun] British English informal extremely drunkDon’t give Dave any more to drink -- he’s already legless.They became totally paralytic and abusive.drunken [only before noun] especially written used to describe someone who is drunk or their behaviour. Drunken is mainly used in written English and is always used before a noun. Don’t say ‘he is drunken’. Say he is drunkA drunken man was found lying outside a shop door.We found him lying by the roadside in a drunken stupor (=almost unconscious as a result of being drunk). → punch-drunk, → roaring drunk at roaring(5)Examples from the Corpus
drunk• He gets in fights when he's drunk.• I just hope they don't get too drunk and start fighting.• Many artistes got drunk before they faced the ordeal on stage.• Okay, so I was looking for a politically active, fat, drunk kleptomaniac.• She was so drunk she could hardly stand up.• Gary was too drunk to remember what had happened that night.• He wondered if the whole Rorim were drunk tonight.• But he had been coming home drunk too often and now she was determined to let him know her feeling about it.• No woman should be treated in a certain way simply because she was drunk when she suffered an assault.drunk as a skunk• Michael's drunk as a skunk.drunkdrunk3 (also drunkard /ˈdrʌŋkəd $ -ərd/) noun [countable] MIDRUNKsomeone who is drunk or often gets drunk → alcoholicExamples from the Corpus
drunk• Drunks are heaped on drunks like spawning newts.• He knew that this tunnel-like place was shunned by tramps and feared even by drunks and peg-sellers.• What it did was to take in drunks and sinful women, and not do anything about making them repent.• A couple of drunks were passed out on the sidewalk.• I don't like to take the bus at night. It's full of drunks and crazy people.• Every night, the drunks come in. 