addiction

IPA/əˈdɪkʃn/
KK[ədˈɪkʃən]IPA/əˈdɪkʃn/

addiction — noun

  • addictionsingular
  • addictionsplural

1. a strong physical or mental need to keep taking a drug, drinking alcohol, or doi

1.nounB2
Definition

a strong physical or mental need to keep taking a drug, drinking alcohol, or doing an activity, so that you feel unable to stop even when it is hurting your body, mind, or relationships.

Example

Kofi has been fighting his addiction to painkillers for three years.

addiction to + noun (drug name)

The clinic in Taichung treats people with gambling and alcohol addictions.

plural use: gambling/alcohol addictions

Common collocations
  • battle an addiction
  • overcome an addiction
  • fight an addiction
  • develop an addiction
  • treat an addiction
  • addiction recovery
  • addiction treatment
  • drug addiction
  • alcohol addiction
  • gambling addiction
Synonyms
  • dependence

    more clinical and neutral; widely used in medical contexts

  • habit

    softer, often non-clinical; can describe minor or harmless routines too

  • compulsion

    stresses the inner urge to act, with or without physical need

  • craving

    the strong desire itself, often a single moment, not the whole condition

Antonyms
  • abstinence

    the deliberate choice to stay away from the harmful substance or activity

  • self-control

    the general ability to resist urges; broader and not limited to substances

Grammar Patterns

addiction to + noun

have an addiction to + noun

Usage Note

Frequently followed by 'to' plus the substance or activity (addiction to alcohol, addiction to gaming). Used both as a count noun for a specific case ('a drug addiction') and uncountably for the general condition ('treatment for addiction').

Common Mistakes

He has addiction of alcohol.
He has an addiction to alcohol.
the preposition is 'to', not 'of', and the singular count noun needs 'an'.
She is addiction to coffee.
She is addicted to coffee.
'addiction' is the noun; the adjective form 'addicted' is needed after 'be'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe doing something repeatedly, but they sit on a clear scale of seriousness. 'Habit' is the mildest and most everyday — biting your nails or checking your phone before bed are habits, not necessarily harmful. 'Compulsion' adds the feeling of an inner push: the person feels they must do the thing, but the body may not need it. 'Dependence' is the more medical, neutral term that doctors prefer when describing the body's need for a drug. 'Addiction' is the strongest and most negative — it carries both physical need and damage to the person's life, work, or family. So a teenager has a habit of biting her nails, a runner has a compulsion to train daily, a patient develops a dependence on sleeping pills, and a long-term heroin user suffers from a serious addiction.

addiction ↗dependence ↗habit ↗compulsion ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • drug addiction
  • alcohol addiction
  • gambling addiction
  • internet addiction
  • smartphone addiction
  • addiction treatment
  • addiction recovery
  • addiction clinic
  • addiction specialist

Adverbs

  • seriously addicted
  • highly addictive

Phrases

  • battle an addiction
  • overcome an addiction
  • fight an addiction
  • develop an addiction
  • feed an addiction
  • kick an addiction

Prepositions

  • addiction to (something)
  • recover from addiction
  • struggle with addiction

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From Latin 'addictio', meaning a formal handing-over or surrender — in Roman law a debtor could be 'given over' by a judge to a creditor. The sense passed through French into English in the 1500s, first describing a person 'devoted' or 'given over' to something (such as study or a hobby). The modern medical meaning, focused on harmful drug or alcohol dependence, only became common in the early 20th century as doctors started studying habit-forming substances.