addictive
/əˈdɪktɪv/adjective, noun
addictive is spelled A-D-D-I-C-T-I-V-E: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 4.1 times per million words in written English, the 12,764th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, addictive means “Causing or tending to cause addiction; habit-forming” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in addictive?
| Letters | 9: A-D-D-I-C-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.1 times per million words; the 12,764th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is addictive?
Addictive appears 4.1 times per million words in written English, the 12,764th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce addictive?
- /əˈdɪktɪv/
Addictive has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-addictive.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of addictive
- more addictive comparative
- most addictive superlative
- addictives plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does addictive mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Causing or tending to cause addiction; habit-forming.
These are addictive drugs.
- 2
Enjoyable, so that one comes back for more.
There are loads of mazes, it's all really good fun and utterly addictive […]
- 3
Characterized by or susceptible to addiction.
He has an addictive personality.
noun
- 1
A drug that causes an addiction.
- 2
Anything that is very habit-forming.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Addictive in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense tending to cause addiction:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | addictif, qui rend accro, qui crée une dépendance, qui entraîne une dépendance |
| German | süchtig machend, verführerisch |
| Portuguese | viciante, viciador, que causa dependência |
| Spanish | adictivo, que crea dependencia, que produce dependencia, que crea adicción, enviciador |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does addictive come from?
First attested 1914. Addiction in modern sense is first attested 1906, in reference to opium. There is an isolated instance from 1779, with reference to tobacco.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).