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
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
He was ticketed for first-offense drunken driving after the crash, court records show.
—Rick Jervis, USA Today, 10 Apr. 2025
By contrast, police are able to administer a simple blood alcohol test to know precisely how much alcohol a person has consumed when pulled over for drunken driving.
—Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 8 Apr. 2025
Fei-hung is a fan of drunken boxing, and his father disapproves of this and other screwups, kicking his son out of the house.
—ArsTechnica, 7 Apr. 2025
The school’s president, Edward Inch, said the school found out after running a database check of international student statuses after the detention of a Turkish student at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis over a drunken driving conviction.
—Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 6 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for drunken
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Rick Jervis, USA Today, 10 Apr. 2025
By contrast, police are able to administer a simple blood alcohol test to know precisely how much alcohol a person has consumed when pulled over for drunken driving.
—Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 8 Apr. 2025
Fei-hung is a fan of drunken boxing, and his father disapproves of this and other screwups, kicking his son out of the house.
—ArsTechnica, 7 Apr. 2025
The school’s president, Edward Inch, said the school found out after running a database check of international student statuses after the detention of a Turkish student at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis over a drunken driving conviction.
—Brie Stimson, FOXNews.com, 6 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for drunken
Cite this Entry
“Drunken.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drunken. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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
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