What does alcoholic mean?
An alcoholic is, in its most common modern sense, a person who has developed a chronic dependence on alcohol — a condition medically known as alcoholism or alcohol use disorder. The word also functions as an adjective describing anything that contains or relates to alcohol, such as alcoholic beverages or alcoholic liver disease. Used of people, the term carries significant weight: within recovery communities and clinical settings it serves as a neutral, even empowering label of self-recognition, while in everyday speech it can feel stigmatising, which is why many clinicians now favour phrases like 'person with alcohol use disorder'. The word entered English through the vocabulary of chemistry: 'alcohol' itself derives from Arabic al-kuḥl, a term for finely powdered antimony used as cosmetics, later extended to distilled spirits and then to those who could not stop drinking them. Today 'alcoholic' remains one of the most widely recognised words associated with addiction and recovery worldwide.
A person who suffers from alcoholism; one who is physically or psychologically dependent on alcohol.
"His doctor gently told him that he was an alcoholic and needed help."
Often used self-referentially in recovery contexts ('I'm an alcoholic'); increasingly replaced in clinical language by 'person with alcohol use disorder'.
Containing or relating to alcohol; caused by or characteristic of alcoholism.
"The bar served both alcoholic cocktails and alcohol-free alternatives."
Used when referring to multiple individuals with alcoholism, often in collective or statistical contexts.
"The charity provides housing for recovering alcoholics."
The word 'alcoholic' wasn't coined by doctors but borrowed from Arabic al-kuḥl — originally a fine powder used as eye makeup — before chemistry repurposed it and medicine gave it its modern human meaning.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of alcoholic
The word traces back through 'alcohol', which English adopted in the early modern period from Arabic al-kuḥl (via Medieval Latin), originally denoting powdered antimony used as eye cosmetic and later any fine powder or distilled essence. By the 18th–19th centuries, 'alcohol' had narrowed to mean ethanol, and 'alcoholic' came to describe drinks containing it. The application to a person dependent on drink emerged in the 19th century alongside the medical concept of alcoholism, popularised by temperance movements and later by organisations such as Alcoholics Anonymous.
Related word forms
How alcoholic is actually used
In medical and support-group contexts, 'alcoholic' as applied to a person is generally treated as a clinical descriptor rather than an insult, though it can carry stigma in casual use. Many prefer terms like 'person with alcohol use disorder'. As an adjective, 'alcoholic drink' contrasts with 'non-alcoholic'.
Easily confused with alcoholic
A workaholic is compulsively devoted to work, whereas an alcoholic is dependent on alcohol; the two share only the '-holic' suffix pattern.
Alcohol is the chemical substance itself (ethanol), while alcoholic describes either the substance's presence in something or a person dependent on it.