alcoholic

American  

[al-kuh-haw-lik, -hol-ik] / ˌæl kəˈhɔ lɪk, -ˈhɒl ɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or of the nature of alcohol.

   The fermented milk has a mildly alcoholic flavor.

2. containing or using alcohol.

   The bar serves beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages.

3. caused by alcohol.

   alcoholic fermentation.

4. of or like a person with alcoholism or alcohol use disorder.

   She hadn’t seen or spoken to her alcoholic aunt in over a decade.

5. preserved in alcohol.

   Tissue shrinking in alcoholic specimens did not affect nuclear composition.

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noun

1. Sometimes Offensive. a person with alcoholism or alcohol use disorder; a person addicted to intoxicating drinks: Prescription medications are available to help alcoholics get sober and stay that way.

   He’s a self-described alcoholic.

   Prescription medications are available to help alcoholics get sober and stay that way.

alcoholic British  

/ ˌælkəˈhɒlɪk /

noun

1. a person affected by alcoholism

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adjective

1. of, relating to, containing, or resulting from alcohol

Sensitive Note

See addict.

Related Words

See inebriate.

Other Word Forms

• alcoholically adverb
• semialcoholic adjective

Etymology

Origin of alcoholic

First recorded in 1780–90; alcohol + -ic

Explanation

Something that's alcoholic contains alcohol. At a party, the host may offer a pitcher of alcoholic punch and another of non-alcoholic punch. Use alcoholic to describe something that has alcohol in it, or otherwise has to do with alcohol. Alcoholic cider, for example, is fermented, and drinking too much can be intoxicating. The noun alcoholic means a person who's dependent on alcohol, whose drinking has become compulsive and unhealthy. This meaning developed in the late 1800s, from the earlier term alcoholist. The group Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935 for alcoholics to help themselves and others quit drinking.

Example Sentences

Cathy befriends young Heathcliff after her rich, alcoholic father brings him to live and work as a servant on their estate perched atop the windy English moors.

From Salon • Feb. 14, 2026

That sort of disdain is still present in the industry -- no-alcohol wines still struggle to match their alcoholic equivalents for complexity and taste -- but attitudes are changing fast.

From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026

Alcohol-free drinks, the market-research firm said, have emerged as a lifestyle choice—one based not on quitting alcohol but expanding options, with most nonalcohol buyers also buying alcoholic drinks.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026

It's the first line Jack Lowden speaks in The Fifth Step, a two-hander play that focuses on the relationship between a recovering alcoholic and his sponsor.

From BBC • Oct. 27, 2025

After the Georgia legislature declared a prohibition against alcoholic beverages in 1907, Papa quit making or drinking beer—he believed in being law-abiding—and the churches started using fruit nectars instead of wine.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Related Words

• hard
• spirituous