Addict Meaning
/ˈæd.ɪkt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug.
nounAn adherent or fan (of something).
Sentence Examples
You could say that Mrs. Smith is a television addict.
I'm a TV addict.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The recovery group provided support for every ____ struggling with substance abuse.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He is a coffee ____ and drinks several cups every morning.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Latin addictus, past participle of addīcō (“deliver; devote; surrender”), from ad- (“to, towards, at”) + dīcō (“say; declare”)
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Those nonaddicts who picked a winning card had increased blood flow to the striatum, but the gambling addicts who picked the right card had much less of it (their reward system was less active)."
— 2006 June 25, Benoit Denizet-Lewis, “An Anti-Addiction Pill?”, in The New York Times Magazine:
"A stressful environment in which there is ready access to drugs can trump a low genetic risk of addiction in these animals. The same may be true for humans, too. And that’s a notion many find hard to believe: Just about anyone, regardless of baseline genetic risk, can become an addict under the right circumstances."
— 2011 August 1, Richard A. Friedman, “Who Falls to Addiction, and Who Is Unscathed?”, in The New York Times:
"They addict themselves to the civil law."
— 1644 November 3 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 25 October 1644]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC:
"Having resided some time in this place, we returned to the other country-house which we had left, where lord B— addicted himself so much to hunting, and other male diversions, that I began to think he neglected me […]."
— 1751, [Tobias] Smollett, chapter 88, in The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle […], volume III, London: Harrison and Co., […], →OCLC:
"That part of mankind that addict their minds to speculations."
— January 19, 1754, Samuel Johnson, The Adventurer, number 126:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The recovery group provided support for every ____ struggling with substance abuse.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He is a coffee ____ and drinks several cups every morning.