shopaholic
noun
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The word alcoholic refers to someone who has a serious disorder. Addictive shopping can be serious, too, but the word shopaholic is most often used playfully to suggest mere excess rather than true addiction. Shopaholic first appeared in print in 1977. It was formed on the model of alcoholic, which was itself created many years earlier by combining alcohol with -ic, meaning "of or relating to." People evidently saw a parallel between someone addicted to alcohol and someone "addicted" to shopping. This is not the first time alcoholic has spawned a spinoff word-shopaholic was preceded by workaholic and chocoholic, both of which first turned up in 1968.
Examples of shopaholic in a Sentence
Chris Schalkx, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Nov. 2024
And shopaholics are in luck, since the autumn/winter 2024 collection is shoppable now.
—Anika Reed, USA TODAY, 15 Sep. 2024
For the foreseeable future, then, American shopaholics should skip Bond Street and head straight for the Champs-Elysées.
—Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 1 Mar. 2024
Even then, Ariel’s coming of age was criticized in some circles for making its heroine a boy-crazy shopaholic, but the fact that millennials continue to lovingly mock it years later attests to its endurance as a classic.
—Inkoo Kang, The New Yorker, 30 July 2023
The habits and values of a 2023 shopaholic, however, look different from those of a 1995 shopaholic.
—Rachel Seo, Variety, 1 Feb. 2023
Online shopaholics who enjoy a side of culture with their free shipping.
—Matt Brennan, Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2023
Every business leader, including me, is preparing a wish list like a shopaholic before a Black Friday sale.
—Prasanna Singaraju, Forbes, 16 Mar. 2023
In the main gallery, the themes of anatomy, identity, and magic are explored through an eye-catching display that would entice any shopaholic.
—David Nash, Town & Country, 8 Sep. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Shopaholic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/shopaholic. Accessed 26 Apr. 2025.
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