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From scents to songs, many harmless things have the power to intoxicate. At least, that is, by today’s standards. The origins of intoxicate are less inviting. You might have guessed that intoxicate is related to toxic; both words trace back to the Latin noun toxicum, meaning "poison," and the earliest function of intoxicate was as an adjective describing something (such as the tip of an arrow) steeped in or smeared with poison. Toxicum turns up in the etymologies of a number of other English words including intoxicant ("something that intoxicates") and detoxify ("to remove a poison from"), and also in a number of names for various poisons themselves. Happily though, today you’re likelier to be intoxicated by Cupid’s arrow than—one hopes—by a poison dart.
Synonyms
Examples of intoxicate in a Sentence
Kayla Dwyer, The Indianapolis Star, 6 Nov. 2024
She’s gone hard after friend-of Jacqueline Blake — a mismatched fight that makes Karen seem like the one punching down — because Jacqueline said that people shouldn’t judge until the case is resolved, and accused Karen of calling her while intoxicated.
—Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2024
Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Intoxicate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intoxicate. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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intoxicate
transitive verb
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