as in drunk
a bout of prolonged or excessive drinking
woke up with a terrible headache from a wild wassail the night before
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Recent Examples of wassail
Amiel Stanek, Bon Appétit, 26 Nov. 2024
The French enjoy their vin chaud, the British their wassail.
—Anna Lee Iijima, Chicago Tribune, 12 Nov. 2024
Each glass of this nonalcoholic wassail is garnished with an apple slice and cinnamon stick.
—Bhg Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2023
Enjoy Harvest Cider, special wassail cocktails, live music, costume contest and the Blessing of the Trees.
—Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 14 Jan. 2024
One of the most traditional holiday drinks of them all, wintertime wassail gets a contemporary update in this flavorful drink recipe.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 15 Nov. 2023
One variation involves people traveling door-to-door singing traditional songs and spreading good wishes while carrying a bowl of wassail.
—Bhg Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2023
Reception from 5-8 p.m. (360 K St.; see Facebook event) Anchorage Distillery — Paintings and prints by Laura Dewey with a limited special edition cocktail menu, including whiskey wassail.
—Anchorage Daily News, 4 Nov. 2021
By the era of Downton Abbey, the practice of drinking wassail had moved to Christmas and the roasted apples served only as flavoring and decoration.
—The Official Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook, Town & Country, 4 Nov. 2020
Stephen Castle, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025
This drink was often used as part of wassailing in England.
—Bhg Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2023
Reisinger's Apple Country, located in Watkins Glen on Seneca Lake, also has a wassailing event on the horizon.
—Jennifer Nalewicki, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Jan. 2018
There was toasting and wassailing all around And cinnamon sticks in yule logs were wrapped and bound.
—Marc Bona, cleveland.com, 26 Oct. 2017
Noun
Since 2022, cider sommelier Dan Pucci and Madeleine Osborn have hosted their idiosyncratic take on an English wassail celebration, the ancient tradition of visiting apple orchards in the wintertime to fête the trees and promote a prosperous harvest in the year to come.
—Amiel Stanek, Bon Appétit, 26 Nov. 2024
The French enjoy their vin chaud, the British their wassail.
—Anna Lee Iijima, Chicago Tribune, 12 Nov. 2024
Each glass of this nonalcoholic wassail is garnished with an apple slice and cinnamon stick.
—Bhg Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2023
Enjoy Harvest Cider, special wassail cocktails, live music, costume contest and the Blessing of the Trees.
—Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 14 Jan. 2024
One of the most traditional holiday drinks of them all, wintertime wassail gets a contemporary update in this flavorful drink recipe.
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 15 Nov. 2023
One variation involves people traveling door-to-door singing traditional songs and spreading good wishes while carrying a bowl of wassail.
—Bhg Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2023
Reception from 5-8 p.m. (360 K St.; see Facebook event) Anchorage Distillery — Paintings and prints by Laura Dewey with a limited special edition cocktail menu, including whiskey wassail.
—Anchorage Daily News, 4 Nov. 2021
By the era of Downton Abbey, the practice of drinking wassail had moved to Christmas and the roasted apples served only as flavoring and decoration.
—The Official Downton Abbey Christmas Cookbook, Town & Country, 4 Nov. 2020
Verb
Image Image In the village of Midsomer Norton, about 50 miles away, 100 people or so turned out for a community event to wassail three small apple trees in the local park.
—Stephen Castle, New York Times, 13 Feb. 2025
This drink was often used as part of wassailing in England.
—Bhg Test Kitchen, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 June 2023
Reisinger's Apple Country, located in Watkins Glen on Seneca Lake, also has a wassailing event on the horizon.
—Jennifer Nalewicki, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Jan. 2018
There was toasting and wassailing all around And cinnamon sticks in yule logs were wrapped and bound.
—Marc Bona, cleveland.com, 26 Oct. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wassail
Noun
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Similar lawsuits have been filed against authorities who’ve mistaken stroke victims for drunks.—
Brian Niemietz,
New York Daily News,
7 Feb. 2025
-
Is Karen really a drunk, or is this a persistent rumor?—
Shamira Ibrahim,
Vulture,
27 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Americans — but especially Californians — drink the most tequila, which can be called tequila only if it’s grown in Mexico.—
Ryan Fonseca,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Mar. 2025
-
My skin drinks this stuff up, and has alleviated many of my complexion woes—think: uneven skin tone, loss of firmness, and excess oil production—with consistent use.—
Kiana Murden,
Vogue,
4 Mar. 2025
Noun
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But until the rules change, the team is entitled to continue its spending spree.—
Russell Leung,
CNBC,
1 Mar. 2025
-
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky went on an online thanking spree after dozens of world leaders voiced support for him in the aftermath of his contentious Oval Office meeting with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.—
Brady Knox,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
1 Mar. 2025
Verb
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If current trends continue, millennial women will become as likely to binge drink as millennial men.—
Kristen Mascia,
Parents,
4 Mar. 2025
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Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who. animal behavior animals 1 free article left Want More?—
Monica Cull,
Discover Magazine,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Its governor, Edward Jackson, was a close friend of the the Indiana Klan leader, D. C. Stephenson, a pudgy man with a reputation for high living, carousing, and trouble with the law.—
Tara McAndrew,
JSTOR Daily,
25 Jan. 2017
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From there, a series of scenes — a late-night house party full of adults drinking and carousing, a cascade of tinsel falling off a Christmas tree, a playground fail — replicate a you-are-there feeling as a preadolescent named Elwood Curtis navigates the agonies and ecstasies of boyhood.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
12 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Wassail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wassail. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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