addict

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A person who is unable to stop using a substance or engaging in a harmful habit.

   Grammar: Has a plural; many clinical and style contexts now prefer person-first wording such as person with a substance use disorder.

   Patterns

   • drug/heroin addict
   • former addict
   • treat/support an addict

   The clinic treats addicts with dignity and medical care.

   A recovering addict spoke to the class about relapse prevention.

   Calling someone an addict can sound reductive in a clinical report.

2. 2nouncountableinformal

   An informal word for a person who is very enthusiastic about an activity or thing.

   Grammar: Has a plural; usually playful and followed by of or for: an addict of crime novels.

   Patterns

   • self-confessed addict
   • chocolate/coffee addict
   • addict of something

   My uncle is a self-confessed chess addict.

   She calls herself a coffee addict, but two cups is her limit.

   The podcast is made by film addicts for film addicts.

Word forms

Common combinations

drug addict

The report says treatment should be available to every drug addict.

recovering addict

A recovering addict may still need strong support after rehab.

self-confessed addict

He is a self-confessed hiking addict who owns four maps.

Synonyms and how they differ

user

User is more neutral but can mean any person who uses something, not necessarily someone unable to stop.

dependent

Dependent appears in clinical phrases and focuses on reliance rather than labeling the person.

enthusiast

Enthusiast fits the informal positive sense, not the harmful-compulsion sense.

Word family

addiction noun

a compulsive need despite harm

addictive adjective

causing compulsion to continue

addicting adjective

informal adjective similar to addictive

Commonly confused: addict or addition?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “addict”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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