ALCOHOLIC Synonyms: 101 Similar and Opposite Words

alcoholic 1 of 2

noun

Definition of alcoholic

as in drunk

a person who makes a habit of getting drunk one can be a social drinker without turning into an alcoholic

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

alcoholic

2 of 2

adjective

as in bibulous

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Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of alcoholic

Noun

Spiezio went from winning the Oakland Athletics’ Dave Stewart Community Award in 1997, to being the Angels’ Roberto Clemente nominee in 2003, to being someone who worked with DARE, to becoming an alcoholic without knowing it. — Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2026 Partly because McCarthy is a desperate alcoholic and becoming very sick. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 29 July 2026

Adjective

An open bottle of alcoholic beverage was found in the passenger side of the vehicle, according to the AP. — Patrick Hipes, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2026 As usual at the Bahrain GP, the top three drivers will celebrate on the podium with bottles of fragrant, non-alcoholic rosewater, not Champagne. — ABC News, 30 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for alcoholic

Recent Examples of Synonyms for alcoholic

Noun

He was also arrested in December on drunk-driving charges that might have stemmed from an incident at a California airport, prosecutors said during his bond hearing Thursday morning.

— Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2026
Instead of collectivity, there is a certain kind of animal community, or one that the poems’ speakers—children, old men, drunks, prostitutes—often stand apart from.

— Max Norman, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

Definition of drunk

Adjective

But how differently would the Iron Lady have handled Brexit or Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU’s bibulous president?

— Philip Delves Broughton, WSJ, 16 Nov. 2018
Aside from his bibulous peculiarities, Old Roy is generous, brave, courteous and a keen lover of fun.

— John MacCormack, San Antonio Express-News, 20 Jan. 2018

Definition of bibulous

Noun

Premium water is a key part of its business as drinkers shift away from sugary sodas.

— Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
On the palate, drinkers can expect dark maple syrup, orange zest, vanilla wafers, and baked banana before a caramel and chocolate finish.

— Kait Hanson, Southern Living, 1 Oct. 2026

Definition of drinker

Adjective

But this replacement adoption has strings attached, in the form of a father (Fabrizio Odetto) who’d already been trying to get Giulia away from his dissolute ex, and is not about to hand her over to some rich third party.

— Dennis Harvey, Variety, 30 July 2026
His untimely death set the template for the doomed, dissolute musician.

— David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026

Definition of dissolute

Noun

Only his father’s respectability, and perhaps his odd Motown accent, spared him from getting cussed out by bridesmaids at society weddings as a wastrel and drunkard, a shameless woman-wrapper.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2026
In invalidating the comparisons, Gorsuch focused on the purpose of the laws aimed at the habitual drunkards of the 18th century.

— Noah Feldman, Twin Cities, 25 June 2026

Definition of drunkard

Adjective

There is something debauched and luxurious about Durham’s photos, and not just because everyone in them is dressed as French aristocrats guzzling champagne and popping bon-bons.

— Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 26 Sep. 2026
For his story was a record of his most debauched thoughts and desires.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of debauched

Adjective

Austin Abrams leads the movie as a dopey medical courier who lands smack-dab in the middle of a zombie outbreak.

— Randall Colburn, Entertainment Weekly, 19 Sep. 2026
When Bane is unmasked in front of his employer, Rupert Thorne (this incarnation of Bane doesn’t even have the drive to tackle Batman until someone pays him for it), what’s revealed underneath is a dopey, boyish goon.

— Daniel Dockery, Vulture, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of dopey

Browse Nearby Words

alcohol

alcoholic

alcoholics

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Style

“Alcoholic.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/alcoholic. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of alcoholic

noun

adjective

Example Sentences

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