Alcoholism

/ˈælkə(ˌ)hɔˌlɪzəm/ noun

noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A chronic disease caused by compulsive and uncontrollable consumption of alcoholic beverages, leading to addiction and deterioration in health and social functioning. uncountable, usually

    "chronic alcoholism"

  2. 2
    an intense persistent desire to drink alcoholic beverages to excess wordnet
  3. 3
    Acute alcohol poisoning. uncountable, usually
  4. 4
    habitual intoxication; prolonged and excessive intake of alcoholic drinks leading to a breakdown in health and an addiction to alcohol such that abrupt deprivation leads to severe withdrawal symptoms wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
alcohol addictiona habitacquired toleranceacute alcoholismaddictednessaddiction

Example

More examples

"The costs resulting from alcoholism are enormous."

Etymology

From alcohol + -ism. Derived from New Latin alcoholismus chronicus, coined by the Swedish professor of medicine Magnus Huss in 1849.

More for "alcoholism"

Synonyms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsBrowse writing guidesExplore topic clusters