inebriate

[ verb in-ee-bree-eyt; noun adjective in-ee-bree-it ]

verb (used with object)

, in·e·bri·at·ed, in·e·bri·at·ing.

1. to make drunk; intoxicate.
2. to exhilarate, confuse, or stupefy mentally or emotionally.

noun

1. an intoxicated person.
2. a habitual drinker of alcohol who is frequently intoxicated.

adjective

1. Rare. inebriated ( def 1 ).

inebriate

/ ˌɪnɪˈbraɪɪtɪ /

verb

1. to make drunk; intoxicate
2. to arouse emotionally; make excited

noun

1. a person who is drunk, esp habitually

adjective

1. drunk, esp habitually

Derived Forms

• inebriety, noun
• inˌebriˈation, noun

Other Words From

• in·e·bri·a·tion noun
• un·in·e·bri·at·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of inebriate¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin inēbriātus, past participle of inēbriāre “to make drunk,” equivalent to in- intensive prefix + ēbri(us) “drunk” + -ātus past participle suffix; in- ², -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of inebriate¹

C15: from Latin inēbriāre, from in- ² + ēbriāre to intoxicate, from ēbrius drunk

Synonym Study

Inebriate and drunkard are terms for a person who drinks heavily or drinks hard liquors habitually. Drunkard is a judgmental label that connotes willful indulgence to excess. Inebriate is a formal term that sounds more factual or neutral than the stigmatizing label drunkard. Dipsomaniac is a rare, older term for a person who, because of some psychological or physiological illness, has an irresistible craving for liquor. Today, the dipsomaniac is more commonly called an alcoholic —another label that is judgmental and sometimes offensive. Rather than using either of those labels, it is more sensitive and accurate to describe such an individual as a person with alcohol use disorder, or a person who has alcoholism .

Example Sentences

“So something that we can tolerate fairly well might be enough to severely inebriate another species.”

From New York Times

But in college folklore he is remembered as a stumbling teen inebriate; his beery ghost is still evoked in darkened rooms, for freshmen, along with the car-crash decapitees and the bobby soxer who hanged herself in Putnam attic and all the rest of the shadowy ranks of the Hampden dead.

From Literature

Between the opulent set design and lavish costumes all lit and filmed to inebriate the senses, the production transports us to the center of its fantasy, making the narrative and dialogue secondary to the series' success.

From Salon

Despite the ordinances and restrictions and despite the university and borough actively discouraging alumni and out-of-towners from coming to State College this weekend, students have been finding ways to congregate, socialize, inebriate themselves.

From Washington Post

This sounds like an admirable scheme and the descriptions of the candles on the website are great: “The Local”, which “evokes the classic British boozer” and “lingers like the melancholy ramblings of an old inebriate”; “The Cinema” which boasts “salt popcorn”, “a fug of recirculated air” and “just the faintest whisper of third base in the back row”; and “The Festival” which features “sun-warmed cider”, “dew-damp sleeping bag” and “the merest shimmer of distant Portaloo”.

From The Guardian

Related Words

• intoxicate
• make drunk