Drank vs Drunk
Published January 19, 2023. Updated January 19, 2023.
Drank and drunk are two words that sound the same but carry quite different meanings. While they are both related to drinks, they are actually different parts of speech altogether. Drank is a verb and is “the past tense of the verb drink.” Contrastively, drunk is an adjective that “describes a state of being where a person has consumed too much alcohol to the point where it is affecting their behavior.”
Here are some examples and definitions of each word to help you understand their different uses.
Drank (verb)
The past tense of the verb drink.
Examples:
After the marathon, I drank at least two gallons of water!
The soil drank the rainwater, as the drought had left it barren and desolate.
Remember that drank is a verb that is used when describing the past tense of the verb drink.
Drunk (adjective)
Describes a state of being where a person has consumed too much alcohol to the point where it is affecting their behavior.
Examples:
She really made a fool of herself by how drunk she got at that party last night.
You will do some serious damage to your liver if you keep getting drunk like that.
Drunk is an adjective that describes a state of being related to alcoholic consumption.
Main Points
- Drank is a past tense verb for the word drink.
- Drunk is an adjective that describes a state of being in which too much alcohol has been consumed.
- Remember that each word serves a different part of speech, and while drunk is used as the past participle form of drink, the most common use of it is as an adjective.