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Noun: alcoholism  'al-ku,hól,i-zum
  1. Habitual intoxication; prolonged and excessive intake of alcoholic drinks leading to a breakdown in health and an addiction to alcohol such that abrupt deprivation leads to severe withdrawal symptoms
    - alcohol addiction, inebriation, drunkenness
     
  2. An intense persistent desire to drink alcoholic beverages to excess
    - dipsomania, potomania

Derived forms: alcoholisms

Type of: cacoethes, drug addiction, mania, passion, white plague

Encyclopedia: Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research

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alcoholism abuse
alcoholize
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