intoxicating

[ in-tok-si-key-ting ]

adjective

1. causing or capable of causing intoxication:

   intoxicating beverages.

2. exhilarating; exciting:

   an intoxicating idea.

intoxicating

/ ɪnˈtɒksɪˌkeɪtɪŋ /

adjective

1. (of an alcoholic drink) producing in a person a state ranging from euphoria to stupor, usually accompanied by loss of inhibitions and control; inebriating
2. stimulating, exciting, or producing great elation

Derived Forms

• inˈtoxiˌcatingly, adverb

Other Words From

• in·toxi·cating·ly adverb
• nonin·toxi·cating adjective
• nonin·toxi·cating·ly adverb
• unin·toxi·cating adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of intoxicating¹

First recorded in 1625–35; intoxicat(e) + -ing ²

Example Sentences

The film is an intoxicating capture of both a culture and a city.

From Vox

Diaz was overworked and proud of it, driven by the intoxicating rush of saving lives.

From ProPublica

In my review, I called the game an “intoxicating virtual reality” after about 19 hours with it, focusing only on the main story missions.

From Washington Post

Knowing your team possesses the league’s best player — at the sport’s most important position — can be intoxicating.

From FiveThirtyEight

Their hip-hop music is totally different, but it’s as intoxicating as the violent versions of hip-hop.

From Ozy

The residents of Arkansas decide Tuesday whether to legalize the sale of an intoxicating substance statewide.

From The Daily Beast

“Some kinks need to be ironed out with the intoxicating open bar at the Mile High Club,” wrote Dowd.

From The Daily Beast

What made for an intoxicating courtship, however, resulted in a troubled marriage.

From The Daily Beast

And so the Libyan revolution was intoxicating, which is why the world watched it much more closely than the dour Syrian struggle.

From The Daily Beast

An Arab legend has it that the intoxicating effects of hashish were discovered by an ascetic monk in 1155.

From The Daily Beast

He was coming out, like myself, to sniff the air; and I was not surprised, for its sweetness after the rain was intoxicating.

From Project Gutenberg

In one of the cases a married woman was properly indicted for unlawfully selling intoxicating liquors.

From Project Gutenberg

There have been occasions when his majesty has exceeded the bounds in the way of intoxicating liquor.

From Project Gutenberg

Yet even this limited, this comparative freedom, which a man could afford to smile at, was intoxicating.

From Project Gutenberg

How different the homeward journey from the intoxicating outward flight, in the heyday of the spring!

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• exciting
• exhilarating
• heady
• stimulating