dry drunk
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.37 in modern English
17
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
2
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A recovering alcoholic who is not drinking alcohol, but has relapsed mentally and emotionally;
noun
A recovering alcoholic who is not drinking alcohol, but has relapsed mentally and emotionally;
adj
Being a recovering alcoholic who has quit drinking alcohol, but remains psychologically dependent.
Example Sentences
- "Denise called Frank a "dry drunk." He no longer drank but he continued to indulge in "the same wild, erratic behavior binges" without the "excuse of alcohol" in his system."
- ""I think Big Jed's dad may be a dry drunk. He seems to have all the problems of an alcoholic, just not the drinking.[…]""
- "Family members frequently report that a dry drunk is as difficult to live with as a "wet drunk." After all, it is not the drinking and drugging that bothers family members but the abusive, unpredictable behavior that comes with it."
- "One of the best ways out of a "dry drunk" is to work with another still-suffering alcoholic."
- "Abstinence leaves me without nicotine, but still living with the old beliefs and behaviors that cry for the drug—in short, living a "dry drunk.""
- "But more interestingly, they distinguish between being "dry drunk"—being on the wagon, but still wanting to drink—and being "sober," neither drinking nor wanting to."