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The Meaning of the Term Drunk

The term drunk refers to alcohol drinking to the point that mental and physical faculties are markedly impaired. Severe alcohol intoxication can lead to possible alcohol poisoning. Common symptoms can include slurred speech, impaired balance, poor coordination, flushed face, reddened eyes, reduced inhibition, and uncharacteristic behavior. Legally drunk is a term used when discussing DUI or DWI laws regarding whether someone has been drinking and driving. All 50 states have set.08 BAC is the legal limit for operating a motor vehicle.

Drunkenness can result in many emotions, ranging from anger, sadness, and depression to euphoria, lightheartedness, joy, and loss of sexual inhibition. In addition, consuming excessive amounts of alcohol often leads to a “hangover” the following day.

Before discovering alcoholism is a disease, a drunk was the only way to refer to an alcoholic. That terminology came about in the 1860s. After that, a drunk was the poor wretch who was always drinking too much alcohol.

To be called a “drunk” usually implies someone might be an alcoholic who suffers from alcoholism. The term being a drunk means the person gets inebriated regularly. The problem with being a drunk is that a person suffering from alcoholism often does not realize the extent of their drinking problem. The disease of alcoholism usually means they cannot stop the insidious cycle due to what is known as the “phenomenon of craving.”

People who regularly drink enough alcohol until they “blackout” have a severe problem and need alcoholism treatment. They are “alcoholics” and need help.

Binge Drinking

  • For women, four or more drinks during a single occasion
  • For men, five or more drinks during a single occasion
  • 24.6 percent of people 18 or older engaged in binge drinking in the past month

Heavy Drinking

  • For women, eight or more drinks per week
  • For men, 15 or more drinks per week
  • 7.1 percent reported they engaged in heavy drinking in the past month

Alcohol Dependence

Drunk is a slang term for alcohol dependence. Drunkenness stems from the body’s gradual inability to tolerate alcohol. Being an alcoholic is usually a gradual process whereby the human body loses its ability to deal with a minimum alcohol amount.

The real problem comes when even a tiny amount of alcohol triggers a mighty craving for more and more alcohol. A person with alcoholism usually gets drunk regularly and never intended to get drunk.

A drunk is considered someone who gets drunk regularly and frequently suffers from the low lifestyle of being drunk. Alcoholics are in a bind. Their self-esteem is so low they can’t get the help they need on their own. Therefore, being a drunk also connotes being an alcoholic. And an alcoholic is someone who is suffering from alcoholism.

The reason a drunk can’t quit drinking on their own is two-fold. First, bodies crave alcohol from the alcohol withdrawal process. Secondly, alcoholism usually requires going through the alcohol rehabilitation process, which addresses why the drink so much.

Someone’s blood alcohol content (BAC) is measured to determine how much alcohol is in their system and whether they can safely operate a motor vehicle. The blood alcohol content is a percentage. The percentage is the amount of ethanol in the blood over the mass of alcohol per blood volume. For example, a BAC of .08 would be .08 grams of alcohol per 1000 grams of blood.

Read about the term “drunk eyes.”

Read delirium tremens