addict

addict — noun

1. someone whose body or mind has come to need a harmful substance — typically a dr

1.nounB2
Definition

someone whose body or mind has come to need a harmful substance — typically a drug, alcohol, or nicotine — so badly that quitting feels almost impossible without help.

Example

The clinic in Taipei treats heroin addicts with daily methadone and weekly counselling sessions.

noun phrase: [drug] + addict

Noa had been a heavy smoker for thirty years and finally admitted he was a nicotine addict.

be + a/an + [substance] + addict

Common collocations
  • heroin addict
  • drug addict
  • recovering addict
  • former addict
Synonyms
  • junkie

    informal and often offensive; usually for hard-drug users

  • user

    neutral, drug-related, often paired with 'drug user'

  • substance abuser

    clinical / formal register

Grammar Patterns

a [drug/heroin/cocaine] addict

Usage Note

Often preceded by the name of the substance (heroin, alcohol, nicotine) or by 'recovering' / 'former'. Can carry stigma — clinical writing increasingly prefers 'a person with a substance use disorder'.

Common Mistakes

He is addict.
He is an addict.
countable noun, needs a/an or the.
She is addict to heroin.
She is addicted to heroin.
use the adjective 'addicted' + to, not the noun, when describing the state.

2. someone who loves a hobby, food, or activity so much that they can hardly go a d

2.nounB2
Definition

someone who loves a hobby, food, or activity so much that they can hardly go a day without it — used in a playful, exaggerated way rather than literally.

Example

Yara is a total chocolate addict and keeps three different bars in her desk drawer.

informal exaggeration: [thing] + addict

My uncle is a golf addict who plays every weekend, even in heavy rain.

Common collocations
  • chocolate addict
  • shopping addict
  • gym addict
  • TV addict
  • self-confessed addict
Synonyms
  • fanatic

    shows even stronger devotion, sometimes obsessive

  • enthusiast

    more neutral and respectful, fits formal writing

  • buff

    informal; suggests deep knowledge of a subject

Grammar Patterns

a [hobby/activity] addict

Usage Note

Distinguish from sense 1: this use is light-hearted and almost always marked by a non-substance noun ('chocolate', 'shopping', 'gym'). Listeners do not understand it as a real medical condition.

Common Mistakes

I am addict of chocolate.
I am a chocolate addict.
the noun before 'addict' acts like an adjective; no preposition needed.

addict — verb

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words name a person caught in drug or alcohol dependence, but their tone and setting differ sharply. 'Addict' is the everyday neutral choice — a doctor, a journalist, or a friend can all use it without sounding rude or clinical. 'Junkie' is street slang and usually offensive; it pictures a desperate hard-drug user and should be avoided in respectful writing. 'User' is shorter and softer, common in police or news reports, and it stays neutral when paired with the drug name, as in 'heroin user'. 'Substance abuser' belongs to formal medical or legal documents; nobody says it at the dinner table. Compare: 'My cousin is a recovering addict' (warm), 'The alley was full of junkies' (harsh), 'Police arrested three users' (reportorial), 'The clinic supports substance abusers' (clinical).

addict ↗junkieuser ↗substance abuser

Common collocations

Nouns

  • drug addict
  • heroin addict
  • shopping addict
  • gym addict

Phrases

  • recovering addict
  • former addict
  • self-confessed addict

Prepositions

  • addicted to

Etymology

LatinEnglish

From Latin 'addictus', the past participle of 'addicere', meaning 'to give over' or 'to assign by judgment'. In ancient Rome a person could be 'addicted' to a creditor — handed over as a debt slave. English borrowed the word in the 1500s, first as a verb meaning 'to devote oneself' to a study or cause. The narrower sense of being unable to give up a drug grew in the late 1800s, alongside medical writing on opium and morphine, and that meaning now dominates modern use.