addictive

adjective ad·dic·tive \ -ˈdik-tiv \

Updated on: 18 Apr 2018

Definition of addictive

: causing or characterized by addiction

an addictive drug

an addictive personality

See addictive defined for English-language learners

See addictive defined for kids

Examples of addictive in a Sentence

highly addictive drugs like crack and heroin
the addictive thrill of surfing

Recent Examples of addictive from the Web

They were confused about Messenger and Instagram, largely ignorant of research suggesting that Facebook is addictive and makes people unhappy.

— alex shephard, The New Republic, "Mark Zuckerberg’s Trip to the Principal’s Office," 11 Apr. 2018
That process of working together, creating, is addictive and beautiful.

— catherine bigelow, San Francisco Chronicle, "Stars come out to celebrate Perloff’s ACT tenure," 9 Apr. 2018
Yet withdrawal has never been a focus of drugmakers or government regulators, who felt antidepressants could not be addictive and did far more good than harm.

— benedict carey and robert gebeloff, BostonGlobe.com, "Long-term use of antidepressants is surging in the US," 9 Apr. 2018
Yet withdrawal has never been a focus of drug makers or government regulators, who felt antidepressants could not be addictive and did far more good than harm.

— benedict carey and robert gebeloff, New York Times, "Many People Taking Antidepressants Discover They Cannot Quit," 7 Apr. 2018
Narcan is a user-friendly alternative to a syringe, the common decades-old method of administering naloxone, which isn’t addictive and doesn’t induce a high.

— Bloomberg.com, "Trump Gives Surprise Plug to Opioid Overdose Antidote Company," 20 Mar. 2018
But the guacamole and smoky salsas are still served with those addictive and eccentric chewy tortilla chips.

— kathleen purvis, charlotteobserver, "2 restaurants in 1: We’ve got the first look at the food (and menus) for the new littleSpoon/Comida | Charlotte Observer," 19 Mar. 2018
In fact, research suggests TV watching can be addictive and have a negative impact on daily life and relationships.

— anne roderique-jones, SELF, "5 Surprising Things That Happened When My Husband and I Gave Up TV for Jigsaw Puzzles," 18 Mar. 2018
The idea: Smarter patients means less reliance on addictive pain medications.

— milwaukee, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "The opioid epidemic: Looking for solutions," 5 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'addictive.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of addictive

¹addict + -ive

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1891

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

addictive Synonyms

Synonyms

addicting, habit-forming;

Antonyms

nonaddictive;

ADDICTIVE Defined for English Language Learners

addictive

adjective

Definition of addictive for English Language Learners

: causing a strong and harmful need to regularly have or do something
: very enjoyable in a way that makes you want to do or have something again

Medical Dictionary

addictive

adjective ad·dic·tive \ ə-ˈdik-tiv \

medical Definition of addictive

: causing or characterized by addiction

addictive drugs

Law Dictionary

addictive

adjective ad·dic·tive \ ə-ˈdik-tiv \

legal Definition of addictive

: causing or characterized by addiction

addictive drugs

Learn More about addictive

See words that rhyme with addictive Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for addictive Spanish Central: Translation of addictive Nglish: Translation of addictive for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of addictive for Arabic speakers

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addictive

Definition of addictive

Examples of addictive in a Sentence

Recent Examples of addictive from the Web

Origin and Etymology of addictive

addictive Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

ADDICTIVE Defined for English Language Learners

addictive

Definition of addictive for English Language Learners

Medical Dictionary

addictive

medical Definition of addictive

Law Dictionary

addictive

legal Definition of addictive

Learn More about addictive

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