What does inebrious mean?
Inebrious means intoxicated or drunk, but its literary tone gives it a somewhat elevated or evocative quality. It can describe a person who has consumed enough alcohol or another intoxicant to be markedly affected, as in a reference to inebrious guests at a celebration. Less commonly, it describes something that produces intoxication or has an intoxicating character, particularly a place, atmosphere, or piece of writing. The adjective is related in meaning to drunk, intoxicated, and inebriated, but it sounds more formal and often appears in descriptions that emphasize mood, excess, or sensory effect. Although understandable in ordinary conversation, inebrious is more likely to occur in journalism, literary criticism, poetry, or historical narrative. The word's unusual history also makes it memorable: it descends from a Latin expression associated with making a person drunk, so in its rarer sense it can refer to a source of intoxication as readily as to an intoxicated person.
adjectiveIntoxicated or drunk. In its less common use, it means tending to make a person intoxicated.
- Intoxicated or drunk.
- Causing or tending to cause intoxication.
"The guests became increasingly inebrious as the evening progressed."
"The singer was already inebrious by the time the second encore began."
"The story's inebrious imagery draws on wine, moonlight, and carnival."
Inebrious comes from a Latin root that literally means “to make drunk”—the word is both the condition and, in its rarer sense, the cause.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does inebrious come from?
Inebrious comes from Latin inebriosus, meaning “drunk” or “intoxicating.” The Latin word was formed from inebriare, “to make drunk,” which in turn combines the prefix in- with ebrius, meaning “drunk.” Modern forms such as inebriate and inebriation continue the same classical root.
Related word forms
How inebrious is actually used
This is a literary and relatively uncommon word. It is more characteristic of formal prose, poetry, and descriptive writing than of everyday speech.
Easily confused with inebrious
Inebriated normally describes a person or state that is intoxicated, whereas inebrious is a more literary adjective that can also describe something capable of causing intoxication.