1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

junkie

noun

ˈjəŋ-kē How to pronounce junkie (audio)
variants also junky
Definition of junkienext
1
as in addict
a person who regularly uses drugs especially illegally heroin junkies wasting their lives

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in lover
a person with a strong and habitual liking for something a television cartoon junkie

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of junkie Adrenaline junkies should consider a trip that involves the notoriously gnarly Cherry Creek section, a nine-mile stretch of intense Class V whitewater, but the local rivers also allow for more relaxing, Class III floats. — Cu Fleshman, Travel + Leisure, 5 Sep. 2026 Paramount brass resisted casting a relative unknown named Al Pacino, whose only previous starring film role was as a junkie in The Panic in Needle Park. — Tom Tapp, Deadline, 27 Aug. 2026 The team can arrange for adrenaline junkies to heli-ski on a glacier, fight to bring a king salmon ashore, kayak on remote riverbeds, and more, all with the help of expert guides. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 26 Aug. 2026 But although Ossoff’s aside resonated with the junkies, the majority of Americans likely had no idea who this Natalie woman was, and might never have given it another thought. — Jonathan Lemire, The Atlantic, 21 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for junkie
Recent Examples of Synonyms for junkie
  1. addict
  2. lover
  3. user
  4. fan
  5. sucker
  6. enthusiast
  7. fanatic
Noun
  • The problem with just arresting addicts is there’s nowhere to take them.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Raised to be a Pentecostal minister, Ron Athey was speaking in tongues by the age of ten, a heroin addict by seventeen, and a performance artist by twenty-three.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of addict
Noun
  • This year, there’s something for nearly every interest, from cheese lovers and bookworms to crafty adults and puzzle enthusiasts.
    — Casey DelBasso, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2026
  • This is our introduction to He and She, two clownish, pugilistic lovers who are locked in a war of words, even as a literal war rages outside.
    — Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of lover
Noun
  • Then again, none of the handwash sinks had any way for users to dry their hands.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Caesars Sportsbook is offering us a chance to enjoy the Friday slate with promo code FOXNEWSDYW which allows new users to bet $1 and earn 10 double-your-winnings profit boosts.
    — OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of user
Noun
  • The successor stadium is significantly larger—by over a half-a-million square feet—than what existed before while accommodating only 35,000 fans, a 26% reduction from the old stadium and, by far, the smallest capacity in the Big Ten.
    — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 25 Sep. 2026
  • Due to an overwhelming response on Day 1 that prevented many fans from casting ballots in the first round, Day 1 voting will continue to September 23.
    — Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of fan
Noun
  • These sucker shoots can quickly form a thicket of stems that are unsightly, inherently weak, and prone to storm damage if allowed to mature.
    — Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 16 Sep. 2026
  • One was a regional distributor of garbage trucks, street sweepers, and sewer suckers for municipalities.
    — Eric Zwick, The Atlantic, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of sucker
Noun
  • And in the training category, the latest shoe releases including Dropset 4 and Adizero Dropset Pro appear to attract a new cohort based of Hyrox and hybrid training enthusiasts.
    — Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 25 Sep. 2026
  • This year, there’s something for nearly every interest, from cheese lovers and bookworms to crafty adults and puzzle enthusiasts.
    — Casey DelBasso, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of enthusiast
Noun
  • Slow Horses fanatics will recognize her as one of the veteran MI5 operatives stuck in the agency’s version of purgatory, known as Slough House.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 13 Sep. 2026
  • Nineteen fanatics, acting in the name of Islam, killed 2,997 innocent men, women and children in New York City, in Washington, and on airplanes turned into weapons of mass murder.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of fanatic

Browse Nearby Words

junkets
junkie
junkies
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Junkie.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/junkie. Accessed 28 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of fungible

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

7 Great Ways to Say 'Great'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of the words cracker fly and sale arranged in a triangle with the word fire in the middle
Triple Play Quiz Find the word that pairs with each of the three g...
See All