addiction

noun ad·dic·tion \ə-ˈdik-shən, a-\

: a strong and harmful need to regularly have something (such as a drug) or do something (such as gamble)

: an unusually great interest in something or a need to do or have something

Full Definition of ADDICTION

: the quality or state of being addicted <addiction to reading>

: compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be harmful

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First Known Use of ADDICTION

1599

Related to ADDICTION

Synonyms: dependence (also dependance), habit, jones [slang], monkey

Other Drug/Tobacco Terms

controlled, flake, herb, key, sodden

Rhymes with ADDICTION

affliction, confliction, constriction, conviction, depiction, eviction, indiction, infliction, nonfiction, prediction, reliction, restriction, transfixion

Medical Dictionary

addiction

noun ad·dic·tion \ə-ˈdik-shən\

Medical Definition of ADDICTION

: compulsive physiological need for and use of a habit-forming substance (as heroin, nicotine, or alcohol) characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal; broadly : persistent compulsive use of a substance known by the user to be physically, psychologically, or socially harmful—compare habituation