junkie

1 a narcotics addict [syn: drug addict, junky]

2 someone who is so ardently devoted to something that it resembles an addiction; "a golf addict"; "a car nut"; "a news junkie" [syn: addict, nut, freak, junky]

English

Pronunciation

• Rhymes with: -ʌŋki

Alternative spellings

• junky

Noun

1. In the context of "slang|pejorative": A narcotics addict, especially referring to heroin users.
2. In the context of "by extension": An enthusiast of something.

   My uncle is a classic car junkie.

Quotations

• 1982: The Message (song) by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five

  Rats in the front room, roaches in the back. Junkies in the alley with a baseball bat.

Translations

The word junkie (or junky) was initially used to describe a heroin addict, “junk“ being a slang term for heroin. However, as the term gained currency, enthusiasts in any specific area began to call themselves “junkies“, as in the phrases “science fiction junkie“ or “political junkie“.

English use of the term in a sentence: “Mr. Cornish, stop your drug use, it has turned you into a real junkie.” Or other variations of the term, such as ‘junk box’. For instance, “Mr. Cornish, stop being such a junk box.”

Other uses of the term include:

• Adrenaline junkie
• Confessions of a Political Junkie, the subtitle of Hunter S. Thompson's book, Better than Sex.
• “Ex-Junkie“, a song by Ajax (band) in 1995, from New York City
• Junkie (aka Junky), a book by William S. Burroughs.
• “The Junkies“, an internet sitcom created by David Quantick and Jane Bussman
• The Junkies, a group of radio personalities in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore area
• “Junkie“, a song by Ozzy Osbourne
• “Junkie“, a song by Kelis featured on the second album Wanderland
• “Junkie's Promise“, a song by Sonic Youth on the album Washing Machine
• “Junkie's Runnin' Dry“, a song by Operation Ivy on their album Energy
• “Junkie“, a TV movie by Yaky Yosha
• ± Junkie, a manga
• Junky, slang (adjective) for something that is messy, poor quality or working order.
• Junkie, a slang term for a supporter of Hibernian FC (due to heroin abuse in the Leith area of Edinburgh, where Hibernian get a lot of their support).
• Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie an album by Alanis Morissette.

LSD user, acidhead, addict, alcoholic, chain smoker, cocaine sniffer, cokie, cubehead, dipsomaniac, dope fiend, doper, drug abuser, drug addict, drug user, drunkard, fiend, freak, glue sniffer, habitual, head, heavy smoker, hophead, hype, marijuana smoker, methhead, narcotics addict, pillhead, pothead, snowbird, speed freak, tripper, user