addict

[ noun ad-ikt; verb uh-dikt ]

noun

1. Sometimes Offensive.
   1. a person who has become physically or psychologically dependent on a chemical substance:

      The leader of the addiction recovery center is, importantly, a self-identified former drug addict.

   2. a person with an uncontrolled compulsion to continue engaging in an activity despite suffering negative personal or professional consequences:

      The funding is for treatment programs for sex addicts and pathological gamblers.

   Synonyms: junkie, fanatic, adherent

2. a devoted fan; enthusiast; devotee: My kids are manga addicts.

   She’s a real baseball addict.

   My kids are manga addicts.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause to become physically or psychologically dependent on an addictive substance, as alcohol or a narcotic.

   The documentary claimed that the tobacco industry used marketing techniques to addict new generations of children.

2. to habituate or abandon (oneself) to something compulsively or obsessively: There was a lot of worry about children becoming addicted to video games.

   It can be hard to read a writer addicted to the use of high-flown language.

   There was a lot of worry about children becoming addicted to video games.

addict

verb

1. tr; usually passiveoften foll byto to cause (someone or oneself) to become dependent (on something, esp a narcotic drug)

noun

1. a person who is addicted, esp to narcotic drugs
2. informal.
   a person who is devoted to something

   a jazz addict

Sensitive Note

Drug and alcohol addiction was historically considered a moral failing, demonstrating a weakness of character. This disparaging connotation persists in the nouns addict and alcoholic , in spite of our evolving modern understanding of the problem. Addiction is the complicated result of genetic predisposition intersecting with dysfunctional behavior, neurochemical modification, environmental factors, and social influences. Many major medical associations treat addiction as a disease, in part because it is a chronic condition that is demonstrably present in a person’s neurophysiology. Medical professionals, specialists, and advocates in the addiction treatment and recovery community suggest using language that focuses on the whole person and specifically mentions addiction or addictive behaviors only when those details are relevant. As an alternative to calling someone an addict or alcoholic , describe that person as someone who is addicted to painkillers , an individual with drug addiction , a person who drinks alcohol excessively , or someone who uses amphetamines . Labels matter. People who have an addiction are human beings, first and foremost. They should not be reduced by the label addict or alcoholic to be defined by a single facet of their complex humanity.

Other Words From

• ad·dict·ing adjective
• non·ad·dict noun
• non·ad·dict·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of addict¹

First recorded in 1520–30; from Latin addictus “assigned, surrendered,” past participle of addīcere, equivalent to ad- “toward” + dic-, variant stem of dīcere “to fix, determine”; ad-

Word History and Origins

Origin of addict¹

C16: (as adj and as vb; n use C20): from Latin addictus given over, from addīcere to give one's assent to, from ad- to + dīcere to say

Example Sentences

“Ninth House,” by Leigh BardugoIn Bardugo’s engrossing fantasy thriller, a recovering addict lands a full ride to Yale in exchange for keeping an eye on the supernatural — and dangerous — activities of the school’s secret societies.

From Washington Post

Perpetual connectivity has led to a plethora of early social media apps that are designed to addict and distract us.

From Fortune

I remember having this strategy of muttering loudly to myself in hopes that people would think that I was either a heroin addict or otherwise insane and leave me alone.

From Freakonomics

You never completely eliminate something you learned that young, but you can learn to recognize it in yourself and take action to avoid it in the future, not unlike a recovering addict in a 12-step program.

From Voice of San Diego

“The judge was in a T-shirt in his basement and he grew a beard during the pandemic,” she says, laughing, and adds that one addict made her required court appearance while lying in bed and smoking a cigarette.

From Ozy

He cast her as Hope, an ex-addict with an impressive pair of fake chompers—the result of years of drug abuse.

From The Daily Beast

They were getting more imaginative,” a pawn shop owner thinks of his addict customers in “Back of Beyond.

From The Daily Beast

He was an on-and-off drug addict and sometimes a criminal; he was a collector of switchblades and vintage Disney T-shirts.

From The Daily Beast

Because they agree that Ty Burrell looks like Jon Hamm if Jon Hamm were a crack addict?

From The Daily Beast

If you are a real poet, you are hooked more deeply than any narcotics addict could possibly be on heroin.

From The Daily Beast

As soon as he mentioned the fact that Ansaldo's assistant Marina was a morphine addict, Santiago interrupted him.

From Project Gutenberg

The streets were almost deserted, except for some prowler or desperation-driven drug addict.

From Project Gutenberg

Nor is he allowed to prescribe narcotics for an addict without decreasing the dosage.

From Project Gutenberg

The Cure was a brief hell, but it was fair payment for having had his fun, and if the addict had any guts he would face it.

From Project Gutenberg

And it is a very risky thing for a woman to marry an addict with the idea of reforming him.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• devotee
• enthusiast
• fanatic
• fiend
• freak
• hound
• nut