drunk/drunkard:
(plural: ‘drunks/drunkards‘; pronunciation: the letter ‘u’ rhymes with the letter ‘u’ in the word “but”)
a person who drinks or has drunk too much alcohol, such as whisky, brandy, rum, etc., regularly in large quantities;
a drinker,
a drunk having too many beers
Nelson cancelled his engagement with Mercy when he realised that she was a drunk.
Matt had a great life — a seven-figure salary, a respectful position in the society, a great family and high profile friends — until he fell victim to drinking and became a drunk.
Nobody knows how drunks get money for their booze; they drink and drink until they spend all their money in one sitting and start all over again the next day!
Drunkards are known to ruin their own life and the lives of those around them, especially the lives of the other members of their families.
a couple of drunkards
‘Drinker’, ‘drunk’ and ‘drunkard’ are all used to refer to a person who drinks alcoholic drinks beyond their limit and who behaves in an unacceptable way.
‘Drunk’ is the past participle form of the verb word ‘drink’ — drink – drank – drunk — and is more commonly used as an adjective to refer to a person or thing that is related to excess drinking of alcohol. For example: In this sentence “He is a drunk.”, the word drunk is a noun referring to a person and in this sentence “He is drunk”, “She got drunk.” & “I saw two drunk persons.”, the word drunk is used as an adjective.
‘Drunken’ is an adjective which is always used as an adjective, e.g. “The police officer arrested a drunken driver.”
However, as a rule of thumb, ‘drunk’ is to be used after a verb (predicative adjective), e.g. “He is drunk” & “She got drunk.” and ‘drunken’ is to be used before a noun (attributive adjective), e.g. “She talked to a drunken driver.” & “He got bored with his friend’s drunken talk.”
Nevertheless, as is the case with any other rule, this rule, too, has an exception, e.g. ‘drunk driver’, and in the modern usage, speakers seem to ignore this rule and use either word for either purpose — attributive or predicative!
About the Author:BC Kumar
BC Kumar, an English Language Teacher, taught in numerous countries including Ethiopia, Oman and India, shares his knowledge and passion for the English Language. Disclaimer: This is a free educational website and all content has been compiled by the author. All copyrights to images and videos belong to their respective owners.
