as in drunk
a bout of prolonged or excessive drinking
woke up with a terrible headache from a wild wassail the night before
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of wassail
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
Each glass of this nonalcoholic wassail is garnished with an apple slice and cinnamon stick.
—
Bhg Test Kitchen,
Better Homes & Gardens,
1 June 2023
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
24 Dec. 2025
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
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
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
Each glass of this nonalcoholic wassail is garnished with an apple slice and cinnamon stick.
—
Bhg Test Kitchen,
Better Homes & Gardens,
1 June 2023
Verb
Some speculate that wassailing predates Christianity in the region; others note its association with the Christian holiday of Twelfth Night.
—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
24 Dec. 2025
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
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
-
For speeders, drunks, reckless drivers and the like.
-
The Burgess Park/Blessington Street Basin spin is easy duty really compared to the Finsbury Park/Ranelagh Gardens spin, where I was laid out once like a drunk for a good half hour.
Verb
-
The robot staff behind the scenes Pudu's FlashBot will run an intelligent vending system, allowing guests to order drink deliveries by smartphone.
-
Get news about destinations, plus the latest in aviation, food and drink, and where to stay.
Noun
-
My records show that pike are liable to begin a feeding spree anytime during the day.
-
After a week’s worth of trade fireworks—Giannis Antetokounmpo, LaMelo Ball and Kawhi Leonard are all on the move, among others—teams didn’t rush into a free-agent spending spree.
Verb
-
This is someone’s Super Bowl, if the Super Bowl was about binging 15 pounds of cased beef tubes.
-
The final season just dropped, and people have started to binge.
Verb
-
Three sitting rooms are complemented by a further three members’ social spaces for carousing in, concealed behind a subtle screen (here, DJs including Goldierocks make appearances, and mobile snaps are banned; staff politely place a sticker over mobile camera lenses).
-
Bethany takes the explosive event as a sign to reunite with her old girlfriend Nel (Lena Góra), and carouse across lofts, clubs, and back alleys, leaving her erstwhile partner stranded.
Cite this Entry
“Wassail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wassail. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
