English

Noun

narcomania ‎(uncountable)

1. A pathological craving for or addiction to narcotics or alcohol.
   • 1990, Mary Schaeffer Conroy, "Abuse of Drugs other than Alcohol and Tobacco in the Soviet Union," Soviet Studies, vol. 42, no. 3, p. 451,

     A. S. Sholomovich reported in 1925 that two institutions for child narcotic addicts and eight out-patient clinics for three forms of "narcomania"—alcohol, cocaine, and morphia addiction—were functioning in Moscow.

Usage notes

Since the early twentieth century, "narcomania" and terms derived therefrom have mainly been used to refer to addictive behavior in Eastern Europe and the former USSR.

Derived terms

• narcomaniac
• narcomaniacal

References

• “narcomania” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, v1.0.1, Lexico Publishing Group, 2006.
• Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., 1989.
• Random House Webster's Unabridged Electronic Dictionary, 1987-1996.

Italian

Etymology

narco- +‎ -mania

Noun

narcomania f ‎(plural narcomanie)

1. narcomania

Related terms

• narcomane