ardent spirits

First attested 1471, from its inflammability; see etymology section of ardent.

• enPR: ärʹdnt

ardent spirits pl (plural only)

2. Distilled alcoholic liquor such as whiskey, brandy, or vodka; especially, strong variants thereof (higher-proof versions).

   Synonyms: aqua vitae (esp. literary), water of life (esp. literary), eau de vie (esp. literary; esp. French ones)

   Hypernyms: drink (alcoholic sense), liquor (broad sense), booze (broad sense), strong drink (broad sense), hard drink (broad sense) < drink (broad sense), beverage

   Hyponyms: (highest-proof, strongest) neutral spirits, rectified spirits, everclear

   Near-synonyms: hard liquor, liquor (narrow sense), strong drink (narrow sense), hard drink (narrow sense), spirits

   • 1837, et al, Honoré de Balzac, translated by Clara Bell, Facino Cane:

     "Even then I realized the possibilities of my suburb, that hotbed of revolution in which heroes, inventors, and practical men of science, rogues and scoundrels, virtues and vices, were all packed together by poverty, stifled by necessity, drowned in drink, and consumed by ardent spirits."