inebriate

Inebriate is a word with multiple closely related senses in English. As an adjective, it describes someone who is under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicants and is therefore drunk. As a noun, it can refer to a person who is intoxicated, or, in older or formal usage, to a habitual drunkard. As a verb, to inebriate means to intoxicate or to cause someone to drink to excess, or more broadly to stupefy or exhilarate.

Etymology and historical use: the term derives from Latin inebriatus, the past participle of inebriāre, meaning to make drunk, itself built from in- “in, into” and ebrius “drunk.” It entered English via Old French and Early Modern English, with senses related to intoxication and the act of intoxicating appearing from the medieval period onward. Over time, the noun form became relatively uncommon in everyday speech.

Modern usage and nuance: today, the adjective inebriate is more often encountered in formal, literary, or historical contexts. The noun form tends to be found in clinical, legal, or temperance-era rhetoric and is less common in contemporary conversation, where terms like drunk, intoxicated, or alcoholic are more typical. The verb sense remains clear but is often replaced by more common verbs such as intoxicate or get drunk, depending on context.

Related terms include intoxication and intoxicate, sobriety, and drunkenness. The word carries a historical or formal tone and is usually understood in relation to alcohol-induced impairment.