addicted
Meaning
being physically or mentally dependent on a particular substance or activity, and unable to stop having or doing it without great difficulty
very interested in something and spending a lot of time doing it
Structure
Usage
he became addicted to painkillers after his surgery.
she is completely addicted to that new online game.
he's a self-confessed news addict, addicted to checking updates every hour.
Etymology
the word 'addicted' originates from latin 'addictus', the past participle of 'addicere', meaning 'to assign, surrender, or devote'. this verb was formed from 'ad-' ('to') and 'dicere' ('to say, declare'), as a formal declaration, often in a legal context, such as a judge assigning a debtor to a creditor. over time, the sense of being bound or devoted by a formal pronouncement evolved into the modern meaning of being compulsively devoted or enslaved to a habit or substance. the english word retains the core idea of being bound, but the binding force shifted from a judicial decree to an internal, psychological, or physiological compulsion.
Analysis
ad- (latin prefix, meaning 'to', 'toward'), dict (latin root, from 'dictus' meaning 'said' or 'declared'), -ed (english suffix, forming past participles and adjectives)