alcoholic

Name: alcoholic, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/ˌæl.kəˈhɒl.ɪk/

//ˌæl.kəˈhɒl.ɪk// noun

By PlainSpell Editorial Team · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed May 6, 2026

The verdict

“alcoholic” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #8,114 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#8,114
frequency rank, English: 9
letters: 13
tracked misspellings: 2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person who is addicted to alcohol.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

alcoholic vs alcoholism

80% similar

alcoholic vs alcohol

78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for alcoholic
Property	Value
Headword	alcoholic
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/ˌæl.kəˈhɒl.ɪk/
Letters	9
Frequency rank	#8,114
Misspellings tracked	13
Confusable pairs	2
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “alcoholic” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). alcoholic lands here:

#8,114

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for alcoholic is 9 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˌæl.kəˈhɒl.ɪk/. Corpus data places it at rank #8,114 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 2 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 13 likely wrong-spelling variants for alcoholic, with forms such as "acloholic", "alccoholic", and "alchoolic". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "alcoholism", "alcohol", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree Akkadian 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum)bor. Aramaic כוחלא (kuḥlā)bor. Arabic كُحْل (kuḥl) Andalusian Arabic اَلْكُحُول (al-kuḥūl)bor. Medieval Latin alcoholder. Middle English alcofol English alcohol Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Italic *-kos Latin -c… The correct English form is alcoholic, spelled A-L-C-O-H-O-L-I-C.

Definition

1
A person who is addicted to alcohol.
2
One who abuses alcohol.

Etymology

Etymology tree Akkadian 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum)bor. Aramaic כוחלא (kuḥlā)bor. Arabic كُحْل (kuḥl) Andalusian Arabic اَلْكُحُول (al-kuḥūl)bor. Medieval Latin alcoholder. Middle English alcofol English alcohol Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Italic *-kos Latin -cus Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ik English -ic English alcoholic First attested 1891, from alcohol + -ic.

Antonyms

teetotaler on the wagon

This word in other languages

alcohólico(Español)alcoolique(Français)Alkoholiker(Deutsch)alcoólatra(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: acloholic,alccoholic,alchoolic,alcohholic,alcohloic,alcohoilc,alcoholci,alcoholicc,alcohollic,alcoohlic,allcoholic,alocholic,lacoholic

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of alcoholic - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

Edit distance from "alcoholic"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "alcoholic"?

"alcoholic" is spelled A-L-C-O-H-O-L-I-C. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌæl.kəˈhɒl.ɪk/.

What does "alcoholic" mean?

As a noun, "alcoholic" means: A person who is addicted to alcohol.

What words are commonly confused with "alcoholic"?

"alcoholic" is commonly confused with "alcoholism", "alcohol". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "alcoholic"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "alcoholic" is /ˌæl.kəˈhɒl.ɪk/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "alcoholic"?

Etymology tree Akkadian 𒎎𒋆𒁉𒍣𒁕 (guḫlum)bor. Aramaic כוחלא (kuḥlā)bor. Arabic كُحْل (kuḥl) Andalusian Arabic اَلْكُحُول (al-kuḥūl)bor. Medieval Latin alcoholder. Middle English alcofol English alcohol Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Italic *-ko... See the full etymology section above for more details.

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “alcoholic”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

The one correct English spelling is A-L-C-O-H-O-L-I-C - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Say it as /ˌæl.kəˈhɒl.ɪk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
Don't mix it up with “alcoholism” - see the side-by-side comparison. alcoholic vs alcoholism
Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.