habitual

habitual — adjective

1. done regularly as part of a habit, often without thinking about it.

1.adjectiveB2
Definition

done regularly as part of a habit, often without thinking about it.

Example

Bao's habitual six-kilometre run along the river kept him fit long after retirement.

habitual + time-of-day activity

Gita grew annoyed with her colleague's habitual lateness at every Monday meeting.

habitual + abstract noun (lateness, complaining, grumbling)

Common collocations
  • habitual behaviour
  • habitual liar
  • habitual lateness
  • habitual smoker
  • habitual routine
  • habitual way
Synonyms
  • customary

    more formal and often tied to social or cultural tradition rather than personal routine

  • routine

    focuses on the predictable, scheduled nature of the action

  • regular

    broader meaning covering any evenly spaced event, not just personal habits

  • accustomed

    describes a state of being used to something, not the repeated action itself

Antonyms
  • occasional

    describes something that happens from time to time, not regularly

  • infrequent

    formal; happening only rarely

  • unusual

    not typical or expected

Grammar Patterns

habitual + noun (habitual behaviour / habitual liar)

Usage Note

Typically describes repeated behaviour or a recurring state. Can modify a person (habitual liar, habitual gambler) with a mildly negative tone, or an action or thing (habitual wave, habitual hum) more neutrally. Frequently appears before a noun — the predicative use (e.g. 'her lateness was habitual') is less common.

Common Mistakes

He is habitual to smoke after dinner.
He is a habitual smoker after dinner.
'habitual' is an adjective that modifies a noun; do not follow it with 'to + verb'.
It is habitual for me to wake up early.
Waking up early is part of my habitual morning routine.
'habitual' describes the noun directly rather than forming a 'for + person + to' construction.

Word family

  • habit
    nounB1
  • habitually
    adverbC1
  • habituate
    verbC2
  • habituation
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

All five words describe something that happens repeatedly or as expected, but each has a different centre of gravity. 'Habitual' comes from the idea of a personal habit — an action repeated so often it has become automatic: a habitual smoker lights up without thinking. 'Customary' shifts the focus to social or cultural expectations: it is customary to bow when greeting someone in Japan. 'Routine' emphasises the scheduled, predictable order of daily life — a routine check-up happens at set intervals. 'Regular' is the broadest, covering anything that occurs at evenly spaced times, whether personal, natural, or mechanical: regular rainfall, regular bus service. 'Accustomed' is different — it describes a state of familiarity rather than repetition: you can be accustomed to noise without making any noise yourself. In short, choose 'habitual' for automatic personal behaviour, 'customary' for social norms, 'routine' for scheduled events, 'regular' for even intervals, and 'accustomed' for being used to something.

habitual ↗customary ↗routine ↗regular ↗accustomed

Common collocations

Nouns

  • habitual behaviour
  • habitual liar
  • habitual smoker
  • habitual drinker
  • habitual offender
  • habitual gesture
  • habitual practice
  • habitual lateness

Adverbs

  • deeply habitual
  • almost habitual
  • so habitual that
  • long habitual
  • habitually (adverb form)

Phrases

  • by force of habit
  • as was habitual
  • in one's habitual way

Etymology

LatinFrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

'Habitual' came into English in the mid-16th century from the Latin 'habitualis', which meant 'of or relating to a habit'. The Latin word was formed from 'habitus', meaning a condition, appearance, or settled way of being — itself from the verb 'habēre' (to have or to hold). The core idea was 'a way you hold yourself', which later shifted to mean 'a settled practice that you hold onto'. English adopted the word through French ('habituel') during the Renaissance, when many formal and academic terms entered the language from Latin and French sources.