Overindulger

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who indulges in something to excess, consuming or enjoying far more than is moderate or healthy
2. Someone who excessively satisfies their desires or cravings without proper restraint or self-control
3. An individual who gratifies their appetites or wants far beyond reasonable limits or what is advisable

Etymology: "Overindulger" is a plain English formation: the verb "overindulge" with the agent suffix "-er" attached, producing a noun for one who indulges to excess. "Overindulge" itself combines "over-", meaning beyond a proper measure, with "indulge," which comes from Latin "indulgere," to give oneself up to, be kind to, or permit. The suffix "-er" is one of the oldest and most productive ways of naming a person by what they do, so the word's meaning follows directly from its parts. The Latin root carries a telling shift. "Indulgere" originally sat close to ideas of kindness and forbearance, and English "indulge" first described gratifying another person's wishes before it came to describe a person giving free rein to their own appetites. "Overindulger" inherits the more negative side of that history, since the prefix "over-" supplies the sense of excess that the bare verb can lack.

Synonyms: excessive consumer, glutton

Antonyms: abstainer, moderate