Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Definition: Addict |
AddictNoun1. Someone who is so ardently devoted to something that it resembles an addiction; "a golf addict"; "a car nut"; "a control freak". 2. Someone who is physiologically dependent on a substance; abrupt deprivation of the substance produces withdrawal symptoms. Verb1. To cause (someone or oneself) to become dependent (on something, esp. a narcotic drug). Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
Date "addict" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1350. (references) |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Addiction is a compulsion to repeat a certain behavior. A person who is addicted is known as an addict. Many drugs (especially recreational drugs), for example, cause a set of medical conditions that include stimulating desire for more of the drug, increasing tolerance of higher doses, and pain or discomfort upon terminating use (called withdrawal). The term addiction is also used for the purely psychological phenomenon of compulsive destructive behavior such as excessive gambling.
There is some overlap between behavioural and substance addictions, e.g. a nicotinist becoming calmer through fiddling with her smoking paraphernalia even without smoking. There is some debate over whether eating disorders are addictions - they are often characterised by strong elements of addictive behaviour. Many people experience withdrawal or withdrawal-like symptoms if they alter their diet suddenly, suggesting that some common food substances eg. chocolate, caffeinated beverages, artificial sweeteners and sugar may contain potentially addictive chemicals.
- Substance addictions include:
- Alcoholism
- Crack-cocaine addiction
- Heroin addiction
- Methamphetamine addiction
- Methcathinone addiction
- Nicotine addiction
- Behavioural addictions include:
- Addiction to gambling
- Workaholism
- self-mutilation or self-harm
- nymphomania (sex addiction)
- Addictions the existence of which is disputed:
- Caffeine addiction
- Cannabis addiction
- Cocaine addiction
- Computer addiction
- Pornography addiction
The medical establishment makes a distinction between physical and psychological addictions. Physical addictions lead to physical symptoms upon withdrawal. Psychological addictions lead to psychological symptoms upon withdrawal. The distinction should not be taken to mean that psychological addictions are easier to break than physical ones. Breaking any addiction is very hard, or it wouldn't be an addiction.
The speed with which a given individual becomes addicted to a substance varies with the substance, the frequency of ingestion and individual characteristics. Some alcoholics for instance say that they drank in an alcoholic way from the moment they felt the first intoxication while most people can drink socially without ever becoming addicted. Nicotine is considered by many to be the most addictive substance of all.
Addiction should not be confused with Dependence in the context of Opiates. One with cancer pain is Dependent on Opiates to live a normal life. Remove that Opiate and they will suffer withdrawal symptoms (yet they are not an "Addict"). Another example of Dependence vs Addiction is the tachycardia exibited with the removal of a Beta blocker. One is not "Addicted" to a Beta blocker but is Dependent upon it.
Some people have scant sympathy for people with serious addictions, believing either that a person with greater moral strength could have the force of will to break an addiction, or that the addict demonstrated a great moral failure in the first place by starting the addiction. Others do not focus on blame, and believe that addictions are simply diseases that must be treated.
The word addiction is some times used jokingly to refer to something a person has a passion for. Such "addicts" include:
- Biblioholics
- Chocoholics
- Internet addicts
Although the term is used loosely rather than seriously, there is actually something in this, because any pleasurable activity releases endorphins, and this endorphin-rush can become 'addictive'.
See also:
- 12-step programs, fanboy, junkie.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Addiction."
Synonyms: AddictSynonyms: freak (n), nut (n), hook (v). (additional references) |
| Context | Synonyms within Context (source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus). |
Impulse | Get into the way, get into the knack of; learn; cling to, adhere to; repeat; acquire a habit, contract a habit, fall into a habit, acquire a trick, contract a trick, fall into a trick; addict oneself to, take to, get into. |
| Source: adapted from Roget's Thesaurus. | |
Crosswords: Addict |
| English words defined with "addict": Addicting ♦ drug addict ♦ junkie, junky ♦ snort, speed freak ♦ withdrawal symptom, withdrawer. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "addict": disintoxication ♦ pinned pupil ♦ terminal junkie, therapeutic community ♦ wirehead, withdrawal treatment. (references) |
| Domain | Usage | |
Screenplays | She's a drug addict. (The Sweet Hereafter; writing credit: Atom Egoyan) Who is, in her own domestic and socially acceptable way also a drug addict. And now I'm ready (Trainspotting; writing credit: Irvine Welsh; John Hodge) I'm an addicted addict! (Remember WENN; writing credit: Erik Amdrup; Jonas Cornell) How can you be a drug addict in the new millennium, Lyle (Cecil B. DeMented; writing credit: John Waters) | |
Movie/TV Titles | H: The Story of a Teen-Age Drug Addict (1951) Drug Addict (1948) Anal Addict (1995) I Am a Sex Addict (1993) The Addict (1990) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | ||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Theater & Movies | |
High Tech |
|
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
![]() | ... an opium addict in Iran lights his pipe of dreams. / WHO photo. Credit: National Library of Medicine. | ![]() | The outfit of the heroin addict. / Official photograph issued by the Narcotics Bureau, Hong Kong Police. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
![]() | [An opium addict in Iran lights his pipe of dreams] / [WHO photo]. Credit: National Library of Medicine. | ![]() | At First He Was Sure He'd Never Become A Heroin Addict. : Now He's Not Sure He'll Ever Be Anything Else. Credit: National Library of Medicine. |
Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits. | |||
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| "Opium Drying 1" by Erika Thorpe Commentary: "Opium stalks hung to dry....no I'm not an Opium addict, these grow wild in my aunt and uncle's vineyard, they are dried for decoration." |
Source: photographs selected by the editor, with permission from the photographers. |
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | This may be because the patient in pain is simply seeking relief of pain and not the rush sought by the addict. (references) | |
Heroin withdrawal is never fatal to otherwise healthy adults, but it can cause death to the fetus of a pregnant addict. (references) | ||
These illnesses can be brought on by behaviors, such as poor living and health habits, that often accompany life as an addict, or because of toxic effects of the drugs themselves. (references) | ||
Economic History | Afghanistan | Much of Afghanistan's opium production is refined into heroin and is either consumed by a growing South Asian addict population or exported, primarily to Europe. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "Addict" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Addict" is used about 203 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 100% | 203 | 21,393 |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expressions using "addict": addict oneself ♦ addict oneself to ♦ addict smb. ♦ alcohol addict ♦ caffein addict ♦ caffeine addict ♦ chess addict ♦ cocaine addict ♦ dope addict ♦ drug addict ♦ ether addict ♦ film addict ♦ hashish addict ♦ heroin addict ♦ morphia addict ♦ morphine addict ♦ opium addict ♦ smoking addict. Additional references. | |
| Hypenated Usage | |
Ending with "addict": alcohol-addict, drug-addict, ex-addict, needle-addict, opium-addict, sack-addict. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Language | Translations for "addict"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | |
Albanian | i droguar (dopey, dopy, drugged, hooked). (various references) | |
Arabic | أغرى (bait, beckon, bring, entice, importune, induce, inveigle, invite, lead on, seduce, suborn, tempt, undo), دمن (intoxicate). (various references) | |
Bulgarian | страстен привърженик, свиквам (accustom, adjust oneself, call, call together, call up, convene, convoke, get acclimatized, habituate, inure, muster, summon), роб (bondservant, bondslave, bondsman, chattel, galley slave, helot, mameluke, predial, serf, slave, thrall, vassal), отдавам се (employ oneself, give oneself, indulge, lapse, revel), наркоман (acid head, dope, drug addict, freak, head, junker, junkie, junky, narcotic), любител (amateur, connoisseur, dilettante, fancier, ham, hound, laic, lover, merchant, outsider), пристрастявам се (become addicted), привърженик (adherent, believer, follower, hanger-on, henchman, lover, partisan, proselyte, supporter, upholder, votary), поклонник (admirer, adorer, idolater, palmer, pilgrim, suitor, votary, worshiper). (various references) | |
Chinese | 有藥癮者 , 上瘾者. (various references) | |
Czech | toxikoman (drug addict), oddat se (resign, surrender), narkoman (drug addict, drug user, junkie), fanoušek (buff, fan, fiend). (various references) | |
Danish | røv (anus, arse, ass), narkoman (drug addict), misbruger (bandit), junkie (drug addict, hard-core addict, junkie, smacker, smackhead), fixedyr (drug addict, hard-core addict, junkie, needle-addict, needlefreak, needler), eufoman (drug addict). (various references) | |
Dutch | verslaafde (drug addict), toxicomaan (drug addict). (various references) | |
Esperanto | narkotiulo (drug addict), morfinmaniulo (morphine addict, morphinomaniac). (various references) | |
Farsi | معتاد (Given, Habitual, Habitue, Inveterate), عادی کردن , عادت (Accustom, Custom, Hank, Rote, Rut, Ure, Usage, Vogue, Wont), خوگرفته (Wont), خوگرفتگی , خودادن (Inure, Season), اعتیاددادن , اعتیاد (Addiction). (various references) | |
Finnish | alkoholisti (alcohol addict, alcoholic), alkoholin orja (drink addict), narkomaani (drug abuser, drug addict, junkie), morfinisti (morphine addict), huumausaineen käyttäjä (drug addict junkie). (various references) | |
French | toxicomane (drug addict), intoxiqué (addicted, drug addict), accro (drug addict). (various references) | |
German | sich hingeben (abandon oneself, dedicate oneself, devote oneself, indulge, to addict to), Süchtiger (drug addict), Süchtige (addicts). (various references) | |
Greek | ναρκομανής (drug addict), εθίζω (condition). (various references) | |
Hebrew | מתמכר. (various references) | |
Hungarian | rabja vminek (fiend, thrall, to be addicted). (various references) | |
Indonesian | pecandu (enthusiast, fan, habitue, opium addict). (various references) | |
Italian | tossicomane (drug addict), tossicodipendente (drug addict). (various references) | |
Japanese Kanji | 常用者 (constant user). (various references) | |
Japanese Katakana | じょうようしゃ (automobile, constant user). (various references) | |
Korean | 중독자. (various references) | |
Manx | miandagh (craver, desirable, desirous, lustful), cleaynaghey (allure, corrupt, decoy, entice, gravitate, induce, inveigle, lure, seduce), cleaynagh (attractive, circumventory, coaxing, deviationist, inclinable, inclining, pervert, slopewise, tempter, witching). (various references) | |
Norwegian | avhengig (addicted), stoffmisbruker (junkie). (various references) | |
Pig Latin | addictay.(various references) | |
Portuguese | agarrado (clinging, stuck to), viciar (debauch, spoil, taint, vitiate), viciado (addicted, dope fiend, fiend, vicious), toxicodependente (drug addict), toxicómano (drug addict, drug-produced experience), entregar-se a, drogado (dopey, dopy, drug addict, freak-out, junkie, stoned), dedicar-se (mind). (various references) | |
Romanian | vicios (depraved, inveterate, nefarious, vicious), persoanã care are patima fumatului, persoanã care are patima beţiei. (various references) | |
Russian | наркоман (acidhead, dope addict, dope fiend, drug addict, drug fiend, drug taker, druggie, junkie, junky), предаваться чему-л. (abandon oneself, devote oneself to, give oneself up to), предаваться наркоман. (various references) | |
Serbo-Croatian | adikt, rob rđave navike, odati se (take to, take up). (various references) | |
Spanish | adicto (acquiescent, be, devoted, resign oneself, result, user). (various references) | |
Swedish | slav (bondman, fiend, helot, slav, slave), narkotikaslav. (various references) | |
Thai | ผู้ติดยาเสพย์ติด (drug addict). (various references) | |
Turkish | alıştırmak (accommodate, accustom, adjust, attune, break in, condition, conform, dovetail, enure, exercise, familiarize, habituate, harden, inure, regrind, school, season, train), alışmak (acclimate, acclimatize, accommodate, accommodate oneself, adjust, be in the habit of doing, become inured to, become reconciled to, drop into a habit, get accustomed to smth., get used to, orient oneself, orientate oneself, reconcile oneself to, school oneself to, season, take to), tiryaki olmak, tiryaki (addicted, confirmed, fiend, inveterate), meraklı (addicted, aficionado, amateur, buff, bug, curious, curious person, devotee, fancier, freak, given to, hipped, hipped on, hound, inquiring, inquisitive, inquisitorial, interested, keen, keen on, lover, nosey, nosy, prying, quidnunc, quizzical, rubberneck, snoop, Snoopy, splenetic), düşkün (addicted, affected, almsman, decayed, devotee, doting, down at heels, fallen, fallen on hard times, fond, given to, jealous, jealous of, keen, keen on, partial, poor, sharp-set), bağımlısı olmak (be hooked on), bağımlı (addicted, clinging, confirmed, dependent, freak, given to, habitual, hooked, in the bondage of vice, interdependent, inveterate, linked, subject, subsidiary). (various references) | |
Ukrainian | віддаватися (abandon, sell oneself), наркоман (dope, junkie, mindbender, narcotic, user), захоплюватися (admire, applaud, enthuse, go for, rave, take away), присвячувати (bestow, consecrate, dedicate, devote, inscribe, vow). (various references) | |
Vietnamese | người nghiện. (various references) | |
Welsh | ymroddi (apply oneself, devote oneself, resign oneself, surrender, yield oneself). (various references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references. | ||
Derivations | |
Words beginning with "addict": addicted, addicting, addiction, addictions, addictive, addicts. (additional references) | |
Words ending with "addict": nonaddict, readdict. (additional references) | |
Words containing "addict": nonaddictive, nonaddicts, readdicted, readdicting, readdicts. (additional references) | |
| |
"Addict" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: abdick, Adac, Addacs, addct, addi, addicate, addick, addit, adduck, adic, Adick, adict, adicte, adiet, adist, adoic, Adpcm, adsit, idict, oddict. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "addict" (pronounced udi"kt or a"di'kt) |
| 5 | u d i" k t | contradict, predict. |
| 3 | -i" k t | afflict, clicked, constrict, depict, evict, handpicked, inflict, kicked, Licht, licked, nicked, picked, pricked, restrict, slicked, strict, ticked, tricked. |
| 4 | -d i' k t | Benedict, interdict. |
| 3 | -i' k t | derelict, district. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
Direct Anagrams: didact. | |
| Words within the letters "a-c-d-d-i-t" | |
-1 letter: dicta. | |
-2 letters: acid, adit, cadi, caid, dita. | |
-3 letters: act, add, aid, ait, cad, cat, dad, did, dit, tad, tic. | |
-4 letters: ad, ai, at, id, it, ta, ti. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-c-d-d-i-t" | |
+1 letter: addicts, didacts. | |
+2 letters: addicted, dedicate, dictated, didactic, didactyl, readdict. | |
+3 letters: abdicated, addicting, addiction, addictive, adducting, adduction, adductive, candidate, candidest, dadaistic, deciduate, decimated, dedicated, dedicatee, dedicates, dedicator, didactics, discanted, distanced, indicated, medicated, nonaddict, radicated, readdicts. | |
+4 letters: accredited, acidulated, addictions, adductions, adjudicate, autodidact, candidates, carditides, coadmitted, dedicatees, dedicating, dedication, dedicators, dedicatory, desiccated, didactical, diffracted, discordant, dislocated, dispatched, distracted, duplicated, elucidated, eradicated, maledicted, nonaddicts, predicated, readdicted, rededicate, syndicated, undidactic, vindicated, wildcatted. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Modern | 5. Usage: Commercial 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Images: Digital Art 8. Quotations: Non-fiction | 9. Usage Frequency 10. Expressions 11. Expressions: Internet 12. Translations: Modern | 13. Derivations 14. Rhymes 15. Anagrams 16. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.