verb / noun / adjective

inebriate

in-EE-bree-ayt/ˌɪnˈɛbriˌeɪt/

Drunkenness caused by alcohol.

The wine inebriates her, leaving her unsteady and less alert.

A two-panel sequence shows wine making an adult woman drunk: first she drinks while sitting upright and alert; afterward, the same woman has drooping eyelids and unsteady coordination beside the visibly depleted wine bottle.

Etymology

Ebriare meant “to make drunk,” based on ebrius, “drunk” or “sated with drink.” Combined with in- (“in”), it gives the direct sense of bringing someone into a drunken condition.

In context

Lisa Sonni 11:59

Now the pattern was identify, isolate, inebriate, intimidate.

Researchers Asked Men One Question. The Answers Were Terrifying.

More examples

Even a small amount of liquor can inebriate him.
She is too inebriated to drive home safely.
The bartender refuses to serve the noisy inebriate.

Forms

inebriate · inebriates · inebriated · inebriating

inebriation noun — The state of being drunk from alcohol.

Similar words

intoxicate: Can refer to alcohol or other substances, unlike inebriate.
drunk: A more common adjective for the same alcohol-impaired state.