Junkies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A slang term for individuals who are addicted to drugs, often exhibiting compulsive behavior to obtain their substance of choice
2. Referring to people who have a strong dependence on narcotics, commonly leading to negative health and social consequences
3. Colloquially describes those who engage in recreational drug use, particularly in a manner that indicates a lack of control over their habits

Etymology: "Junkies" is the plural of "junkie," which is built from "junk" in its old slang sense of a narcotic drug, plus the diminutive suffix "-ie," the same ending found in words like "movie" and "hippie." So the word is a drug slang coinage that turned a substance name into a label for the people who used it. The slang sense of "junk" is the older of the two parts to trace. Its use for narcotics is what gave the base word its drug meaning, and it was that narcotic sense that the suffix attached to. The result is a word whose core meaning is simply a person connected with junk, with the suffix doing the work of turning the drug into a type of person.

Synonyms: addicts, users, substance abusers, druggies, dependents