drunk

(drŭngk)

verb adjective

1. a. Intoxicated with alcoholic liquor to the point of impairment of physical and mental faculties.
   b. Caused or influenced by intoxication.
2. Overcome by strong feeling or emotion: drunk with power.

noun

1. A drunkard.
2. A bout of drinking.

Usage Note: As an adjective the form drunk is used after a verb while the form drunken is now used only in front of a noun: They were drunk last night. A drunken patron at the restaurant ruined our evening. Using drunk in front of a noun is usually considered unacceptable in formal style, but the phrases drunk driver and drunk driving, which have become fixed expressions, present an exception to this. Drunk and drunken are sometimes used to make a legal distinction, whereby a drunk driver is a driver whose alcohol level exceeds the legal limit, and a drunken driver is a driver who is inebriated.