What does intoxicate mean?
Intoxicate is a formal verb meaning to make someone drunk or otherwise unable to exercise normal judgment and control. It can also describe an intense emotional or aesthetic experience that captivates a person, as in saying that a performance or display intoxicated the audience. The word is stronger and more dramatic than simply saying someone was excited, and it often suggests an effect that is difficult to resist or regain composure from. Intoxicate may describe alcohol or drug-induced impairment, but figurative uses are especially common when discussing music, art, charisma, success, or spectacle. Its history reflects an older medical sense: the word comes through Latin from a term connected with poison, and its later figurative meanings developed from the idea of overwhelming someone’s senses and judgment. Related forms include intoxicated, intoxicating, and intoxication.
To cause someone to become drunk, intoxicated, or impaired in judgment and control.
"The celebration continued until the noise intoxicated them."
This use is often formal and may refer to alcohol, drugs, or any substance that impairs normal self-control.
To captivate or overwhelm someone with intense excitement, pleasure, or admiration.
"The young musician’s performance intoxicated the festival audience."
This figurative use is idiomatic and often appears in journalism, criticism, and formal speech.
Intoxicate originally meant “to poison”: its Latin ancestor came from a word for poison, so the modern sense of overwhelming excitement grew from the same idea of causing a loss of control.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does intoxicate come from?
Intoxicate comes from Latin intoxicare, “to poison,” derived from toxicum, a poison or toxic substance. The Latin word in turn reflects Greek toxikon, associated with toxikon pharmakon, meaning “poison for arrows.” In English, the word was initially used for causing poisoning or drunkenness, while the figurative sense of overwhelming someone with fascination developed later.
Related word forms
How intoxicate is actually used
The word is formal in many contexts and often describes a powerful effect on people. Figurative uses are especially common in journalism, literature, and speech about music, beauty, success, or performance.
Easily confused with intoxicate
Intoxicate is a verb meaning to cause intoxication or enchantment, whereas intoxicant is a noun or adjective referring to something that causes intoxication.