What does drunkenness mean?
Drunkenness is the state of being intoxicated by alcohol — the condition that results when drinking impairs a person's coordination, judgement, speech, or self-control. It also carries a second sense, referring to habitual or chronic excessive drinking rather than a single episode. The word is largely neutral but slightly formal in tone, appearing frequently in legal statutes (as in 'drunk and disorderly' or 'public drunkenness'), medical literature, and news reporting, whereas everyday conversation tends to favour phrases like 'being drunk'. Because it names a condition rather than a person, it differs from 'drunkard', which denotes someone who habitually drinks heavily. Its derivatives — 'drunk', 'drunken', and 'drunkard' — all trace back to the Old English verb 'drincan'. The word remains useful wherever precision or formality matters: courts, health guidelines, historical writing, and moral commentary all rely on it to describe intoxication without colloquial colouring.
The state of being intoxicated with alcohol; impairment of physical and mental faculties by drink.
"He could barely walk home in his drunkenness."
Often qualified, as in 'public drunkenness'.
Habitual or excessive indulgence in alcoholic drink.
"His drunkenness eventually destroyed his marriage."
Rarely used; drunkenness is almost always treated as an uncountable mass noun referring to a state or condition.
"The report catalogued various drunkennesses among the ship's crew."
In English law, 'drunkenness' has been a formal legal term for centuries — it can be charged as an offence in its own right when it happens in public.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of drunkenness
Drunkenness derives from the adjective 'drunken', the old past participle of the verb 'drink', combined with the suffix '-ness' forming abstract nouns of state. 'Drink' comes from Old English 'drincan', which shares a Germanic root with cognates such as Dutch 'drinken' and German 'trinken'. The compound noun has been used in English since the Middle Ages to describe both single episodes of intoxication and habitual heavy drinking.
Related word forms
How drunkenness is actually used
Drunkenness is a somewhat formal or neutral term, common in legal, medical, and journalistic contexts. In everyday speech people more often say 'being drunk' or 'intoxicated'. The word carries no affectionate connotation and is generally used disapprovingly or clinically.
Easily confused with drunkenness
A drunkard is a person who habitually drinks too much, whereas drunkenness is the condition or state of intoxication itself.