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
Read is accused of striking O'Keefe with her Lexus SUV during a drunken argument and then leaving the scene, where he was found dead with signs of severe head trauma and hypothermia the next morning.
—Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 18 Apr. 2025
The Senator enlists the help of Davis to provoke Staten at Gracie’s, which leads to a drunken brawl.
—Francesca Gariano, People.com, 18 Apr. 2025
By that time, the juke joint has also picked up four more employees: a drunken pianist nicknamed Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), a field hand-slash-bouncer called Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller) and Bo and Grace Chao (Yao and Li Jun Li), a married couple who run the town’s grocery stores.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 17 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
See All Example Sentences for drunken
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Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 18 Apr. 2025
The Senator enlists the help of Davis to provoke Staten at Gracie’s, which leads to a drunken brawl.
—Francesca Gariano, People.com, 18 Apr. 2025
By that time, the juke joint has also picked up four more employees: a drunken pianist nicknamed Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo), a field hand-slash-bouncer called Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller) and Bo and Grace Chao (Yao and Li Jun Li), a married couple who run the town’s grocery stores.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 17 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
See All Example Sentences for drunken
Cite this Entry
“Drunken.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/drunken. Accessed 23 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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