Phrase guide

substance abuse

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

An overindulgence in and dependence on a drug or other chemical.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Topics: medicine, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: drug abuse, drug use

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

excessive use of drugs

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: drug abuse, habit

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: misuse, abuse

Narrower terms: alcohol abuse, alcoholic abuse, alcoholism abuse

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

23 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 物質濫用 /物质滥用 (wùzhì lànyòng) — overindulgence in a drug
  • Chinese Mandarin: 濫用藥物 /滥用药物 (lànyòng yàowù) — overindulgence in a drug
  • Chinese Mandarin: 吸毒 (xīdú) — overindulgence in a drug
  • Czech: zneužívání návykových látek — overindulgence in a drug
  • Danish: stofmisbrug — overindulgence in a drug
  • Dutch: drugsmisbruik — overindulgence in a drug
  • Estonian: narkomaania — overindulgence in a drug
  • Finnish: päihteiden väärinkäyttö — overindulgence in a drug
  • French: abus de drogues — overindulgence in a drug
  • Galician: abuso de substancias — overindulgence in a drug
  • German: Drogenmissbrauch — overindulgence in a drug
  • Japanese: 薬物乱用 (yakubutsu ran'yō) — overindulgence in a drug
  • Korean: 약물 남용 (yangmul namyong) — overindulgence in a drug
  • Norwegian Bokmål: rusmiddelmisbruk — overindulgence in a drug
  • Norwegian Bokmål: rusmisbruk — overindulgence in a drug
  • Polish: nadużywanie środków odurzających — overindulgence in a drug
  • Portuguese: abuso de substância/substâncias — overindulgence in a drug
  • Russian: злоупотребле́ние нарко́тиками (zloupotreblénije narkótikami) — overindulgence in a drug
  • Sotho: hlekefetso ya dithethefatse — overindulgence in a drug
  • Spanish: abuso de substancias — overindulgence in a drug
  • Spanish: abuso substancial — overindulgence in a drug
  • Swedish: substansmissbruk — overindulgence in a drug
  • Turkish: madde bağımlılığı — overindulgence in a drug