Addiction
/əˈdɪk.ʃən/
nounIntermediateVery CommonGeneral
Meaning
Question
Definitions
1
the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance or activity.
/əˈdɪk.ʃən/
nounneutralIntermediate
General
Her addiction to shopping was ruining her financially.
💡 Simply: Strong need or urge to have or do something repeatedly.
More Examples
2
He was struggling to overcome his addiction to alcohol.
How It's Used
Psychology
"His addiction to drugs started when he was a teenager."
Literature
"The novel describes the protagonist's addiction to gambling."
From Latin addictionem (nominative addictio) ‘a giving up or devotion of oneself to something, a surrendering’, from addicere ‘give up or abandon (oneself) to, deliver over, devote’.
First attested in the 16th century.
Memory tip
Imagine being dependent and unable to resist the desire to partake in the activity or substance.
Practice
Word Origin
Root: addict
Base: addict
adictionaddicition
Usage
75%Spoken
85%Written