as in alcoholic
a person who makes a habit of getting drunk
an old souse who lumbered home with a full bottle of gin in him every night
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in to wet
to make wet
a passing car barreled through the puddle and soused us good
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
3
as in to soak
to wet thoroughly with liquid
firefighters soused the neighboring houses so that they wouldn't catch fire as well
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of souse
Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 3 Aug. 2025
For another Grand Turk specialty, chicken souse served with journey (called johnnycake on other Caribbean islands), Been suggests the deli at the Graceway Grand Turk or the Spot at the JAGS McCartney Airport, which serves the dish on Saturdays.
—Laura Begley Bloom, AFAR Media, 10 Mar. 2025
Taste traditional home cooking If fish is for Friday, the traditional Bajan dish of pudding and souse is the staple of Saturday.
—Patrick Scott, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025
The meat in souse is first tenderized through boiling and then marinated in lime, cucumbers, peppers and seasonings to pickled perfection.
—Essence, 25 Nov. 2024
Guests were treated to local specialties like fresh conch salad, crack conch fritters, curry goat, chicken souse and more, with a side of carnival vibes and traditional music and dance performances.
—Claudia Alarcón, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024
While assembling these souse and bakes, the complex history of the Caribbean comes into full view, as does the resilience of Grenadians who have turned the foods of their oppression such as saltfish into profoundly beautiful, delicious dishes.
—Lelani Lewis, Saveur, 29 Feb. 2024
The caterers served roti and jerk and pelau and souse.
—Victoria Brown, Harper's BAZAAR, 19 Feb. 2021
Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 3 Aug. 2025
The party scenes are tawdry, with flappers frenetically jiggling, their underwear peeking out and soused guests making spectacles of themselves.
—Danielle Teller, People.com, 10 Apr. 2025
The athletes were unwinding in the locker room when Coach Mark Few and his assistants charged in and began sousing them with ice-cold water.
—Andrew Keh, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2023
And then there’s the soy sauce that gets soused over everything to improve bad food in a cheap restaurant.
—Maggie Hiufu Wong, CNN, 5 Mar. 2023
Noun
Mars in your sign only happens every two years, souse this time wisely.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 3 Aug. 2025
For another Grand Turk specialty, chicken souse served with journey (called johnnycake on other Caribbean islands), Been suggests the deli at the Graceway Grand Turk or the Spot at the JAGS McCartney Airport, which serves the dish on Saturdays.
—Laura Begley Bloom, AFAR Media, 10 Mar. 2025
Taste traditional home cooking If fish is for Friday, the traditional Bajan dish of pudding and souse is the staple of Saturday.
—Patrick Scott, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2025
The meat in souse is first tenderized through boiling and then marinated in lime, cucumbers, peppers and seasonings to pickled perfection.
—Essence, 25 Nov. 2024
Guests were treated to local specialties like fresh conch salad, crack conch fritters, curry goat, chicken souse and more, with a side of carnival vibes and traditional music and dance performances.
—Claudia Alarcón, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024
While assembling these souse and bakes, the complex history of the Caribbean comes into full view, as does the resilience of Grenadians who have turned the foods of their oppression such as saltfish into profoundly beautiful, delicious dishes.
—Lelani Lewis, Saveur, 29 Feb. 2024
The caterers served roti and jerk and pelau and souse.
—Victoria Brown, Harper's BAZAAR, 19 Feb. 2021
Verb
Mars in your sign only happens every two years, souse this time wisely.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 3 Aug. 2025
The party scenes are tawdry, with flappers frenetically jiggling, their underwear peeking out and soused guests making spectacles of themselves.
—Danielle Teller, People.com, 10 Apr. 2025
The athletes were unwinding in the locker room when Coach Mark Few and his assistants charged in and began sousing them with ice-cold water.
—Andrew Keh, New York Times, 31 Mar. 2023
And then there’s the soy sauce that gets soused over everything to improve bad food in a cheap restaurant.
—Maggie Hiufu Wong, CNN, 5 Mar. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for souse
Noun
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Desmond, her husband, had returned from the war, not physically wounded, but mentally damaged, and was becoming an alcoholic.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Staples, played in the movie by Emily Blunt, was a recovering alcoholic, and the couple’s fraught journeys with sobriety led to feelings of abandonment and bitterness.—
Rory Doherty,
Time,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Before going in, run the inside of your mouth with your tongue to wet every surface.—
Ian Kumamoto,
Them.,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Increase the resistance on this exercise by wetting the towel first.—
Aubrey Bailey,
Verywell Health,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Getty Images That upward trajectory stands in contrast to the United States, where life expectancy virtually flatlined during the 2010s and even dipped slightly on occasions during the 2010s—a trend blamed in large part on a surge in deaths from overdoses from the synthetic opioid fentanyl.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Paulino and McLaughlin-Levrone both dipped under the previous championship record to lead the greatest 400-meter dash final in history.—
Katelyn Hutchison,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Not with crisp, clean bedding but with your sheet coming out of the dryer balled up in your duvet cover, still soaking wet.—
Reuven Perlman,
New Yorker,
15 Sep. 2025
-
On their simulated planet, clouds released rain that froze into icebergs that melted and flowed down rivers, soaking soil and evaporating to rejoin the atmosphere.—
Zack Savitsky,
Quanta Magazine,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Charlie Sheen once piloted a jet drunk.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA Today,
10 Sep. 2025
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Stray Bullets • In this week’s post-credits scene, Adrian removes the pants of the drunk, sleeping John Economos and plants a tender kiss on his forehead.—
Scott Meslow,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
There’s a risk of the children drowning in the pool or being bitten by spiders; there’s the danger of a brush fire on the nearby hillside; and more.—
Deborah Treisman,
New Yorker,
14 Sep. 2025
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That matters because SOCs are drowning in noise and budget strain from log ingestion.—
Tony Bradley,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The way a Newfoundland dog carefully ducks his head to avoid getting bumped by a car trunk has captured hearts across the internet.—
Lydia Patrick,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
-
People having to duck and dive on the trains and the buses, walking through the street, this is one case, but this is happening all across the country.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Our testers were struck by everything the YSL Loveshine Plumping Lip Oil Gloss can do—in addition to drenching lips in an unbelievable amount of shine, that is.—
Sophia Panych,
Allure,
16 Sep. 2025
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On Girl Violence, Strauss drenches her songs in feedback and languor, adding heat to her expressions of desire and comfort to her feelings of anxiety.—
Maura Johnston,
Rolling Stone,
16 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Souse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/souse. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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