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definitions

dipsomaniac

[dip-suh-mey-nee-ak, -soh-]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dipsomaniac ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person with an irresistible craving for alcoholic drink.

Origin of dipsomaniac

First recorded in 1855–60; dipsomani(a) + -ac
Related formsdip·so·ma·ni·a·cal [dip-suh-muh-nahy-uh-kuh l, -soh-] /ˌdɪp sə məˈnaɪ ə kəl, -soʊ-/, adjective

Synonym study

See drunkard.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for dipsomaniac

alcoholic, sponge, lush, inebriate, boozer, sot, bum, drinker, drunkard, hobo, carouser, guzzler, dipsomaniac, souse, wino, bacchanal, soak, tippler, stiff, debauchee

Examples from the Web for dipsomaniac

Historical Examples of dipsomaniac

  • Why do they not ring the bell and remove the dipsomaniac prize-fighter?

    Eugenics and Other Evils

    G. K. Chesterton

  • I liked him very much, but, unlike most Mahomedans, he was a dipsomaniac.

    At the Court of the Amr

    John Alfred Gray

  • When he came up he was within arm's reach of the dipsomaniac.

    Pirates' Hope

    Francis Lynde

  • This physician finds from the evidence that Poe was a dipsomaniac.

    The Critical Game

    John Albert Macy

  • In England a spendthrift or dipsomaniac can only be controlled when he has spent all his money.

    Woman and Womanhood

    C. W. Saleeby

British Dictionary definitions for dipsomaniac

dipsomaniac

noun

any person who has an uncontrollable and recurring urge to drink alcoholShortened form: dipso

adjective

relating to or affected with dipsomania
Derived Formsdipsomaniacal (ˌdɪpsəʊməˈnaɪəkəl), adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for dipsomaniac
n.

"drunkard," 1858, from dipsomania; slang shortening dipso is from 1880.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper