sloshed

Sloshed is an informal English adjective and past-tense verb form derived from the verb slosh. As an adjective, it most often describes someone who is heavily intoxicated, typically after consuming a noticeable amount of alcohol. It can also describe liquids that are moving or unsettled inside a container, such as a cup or bottle, usually after being tilted or jostled.

Etymology and usage notes: Slosh means to splash or spill liquid, and sloshed literally conveys the sense of having been splashed or unsettled. The term is colloquial and far more common in conversational American English than in formal writing. It appears in casual speech, popular media, and fiction. In formal or clinical contexts, more precise terms such as drunk, intoxicated, or inebriated are preferred for people, while “sloshing” is typically used to describe liquid movement rather than a person.

Usage examples: For people, a typical sentence is, “He got sloshed at the party,” indicating heavy drinking. For liquids, one might say, “The beer sloshed in the mug as he walked,” describing the movement of liquid within a container. The term emphasizes the degree of drunkenness or the physical motion of liquid rather than serving as a clinical descriptor.

Related terms and distinctions: Sloshed is closely related to other informal terms for intoxication, such as loaded, hammered, or wasted, though these can carry different connotations. The verb form slosh also exists in continuous forms such as sloshing, which describes ongoing movement of liquid.