[syn: substance abuse, drug abuse, habit]
VERB (1)
1. put a habit on;
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Habit \Hab"it\ (h[a^]b"[i^]t) n. [OE. habit, abit, F. habit, fr.
L. habitus state, appearance, dress, fr. habere to have, be
in a condition; prob. akin to E. have. See Have, and cf.
Able, Binnacle, Debt, Due, Exhibit, Malady.]
1. The usual condition or state of a person or thing, either
natural or acquired, regarded as something had, possessed,
and firmly retained; as, a religious habit; his habit is
morose; elms have a spreading habit; esp., physical
temperament or constitution; as, a full habit of body.
[1913 Webster]
2. (Biol.) The general appearance and manner of life of a
living organism. Specifically, the tendency of a plant or
animal to grow in a certain way; as, the deciduous habit
of certain trees.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
3. Fixed or established custom; ordinary course of conduct;
practice; usage; hence, prominently, the involuntary
tendency or aptitude to perform certain actions which is
acquired by their frequent repetition; as, habit is second
nature; also, peculiar ways of acting; characteristic
forms of behavior.
[1913 Webster]
A man of very shy, retired habits. --W. Irving.
[1913 Webster]
4. Outward appearance; attire; dress; hence, a garment; esp.,
a closely fitting garment or dress worn by ladies; as, a
riding habit.
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Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy. --Shak.
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There are, among the statues, several of Venus, in
different habits. --Addison.
5. Hence: The distinctive clothing worn commonly by nuns or
monks; as, in the late 1900's many orders of nuns
discarded their habits and began to dress as ordinary lay
women.
[PJC]
Syn: Practice; mode; manner; way; custom; fashion.
Usage: Habit, Custom. Habit is a disposition or tendency
leading us to do easily, naturally, and with growing
certainty, what we do often; custom is external, being
habitual use or the frequent repetition of the same
act. The two operate reciprocally on each other. The
custom of giving produces a habit of liberality;
habits of devotion promote the custom of going to
church. Custom also supposes an act of the will,
selecting given modes of procedure; habit is a law of
our being, a kind of "second nature" which grows up
within us.
[1913 Webster]
How use doth breed a habit in a man! --Shak.
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He who reigns . . . upheld by old repute,
Consent, or custom --Milton.
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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Habit \Hab"it\ (h[a^]b"[i^]t), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Habited; p.
pr. & vb. n. Habiting.] [OE. habiten to dwell, F. habiter,
fr. L. habitare to have frequently, to dwell, intens. fr.
habere to have. See Habit, n.]
1. To inhabit. [Obs.]
[1913 Webster]
In thilke places as they [birds] habiten. --Rom. of
R.
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2. To dress; to clothe; to array.
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They habited themselves like those rural deities.
--Dryden.
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3. To accustom; to habituate. [Obs.] --Chapman.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
habit
n 1: an established custom; "it was their habit to dine at 7
every evening" [syn: habit, wont]
2: (psychology) an automatic pattern of behavior in reaction to
a specific situation; may be inherited or acquired through
frequent repetition; "owls have nocturnal habits"; "she had a
habit twirling the ends of her hair"; "long use had hardened
him to it" [syn: habit, use]
3: a distinctive attire worn by a member of a religious order
4: the general form or mode of growth (especially of a plant or
crystal); "a shrub of spreading habit"
5: attire that is typically worn by a horseback rider
(especially a woman's attire) [syn: habit, riding habit]
6: excessive use of drugs [syn: substance abuse, drug abuse,
habit]
v 1: put a habit on
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
168 Moby Thesaurus words for "habit":
a habit, accouter, acquired tolerance, acute alcoholism,
addictedness, addiction, alcoholism,
amphetamine withdrawal symptoms, apparel, array, attire, attitude,
automatism, bad habit, barbiturate addiction, barbiturism,
bedizenment, bent, bib and tucker, body-build, brand, caparison,
cast, chain smoking, character, characteristic, characteristics,
chronic alcoholism, clothes, clothing, cocainism, complexion,
composition, compulsion, constituents, constitution, convention,
costume, crash, crasis, craving, creature of habit, custom,
dependence, dharma, diathesis, dipsomania, disguise, disposition,
drapery, dress, dressing, drug addiction, drug culture,
drug dependence, duds, equip, ethos, fashion, fatigues, feathers,
fiber, fig, fit, fit out, force of habit, frame, frame of mind,
frock, garb, garments, gear, genius, grain, guise, habiliment,
habiliments, habit pattern, habituation, habitude, hue, humor,
humors, idiosyncrasy, ilk, inclination, investiture, investment,
kind, linen, livery, makeup, manner, mannerism, masquerade,
minauderie, mode, mold, nature, nicotine addiction, outfit,
pattern, peculiar trait, peculiarity, penchant,
physical dependence, physique, policy, practice, praxis,
predisposition, proclivity, propensity, property,
psychological dependence, quality, quirk, rags, raiment, regalia,
rig, rig out, rig up, robes, routine, rule, second nature,
somatotype, sort, spirit, sportswear, stamp, stereotype,
stereotyped behavior, streak, stripe, style, suchness, suit,
system, temper, temperament, tendency, tenor, threads, togs,
toilette, tolerance, tone, trademark, trick, trick of behavior,
trim, turn out, type, uniform, usage, use, vein, vestment,
vestments, vesture, way, wear, wearing apparel,
withdrawal sickness, withdrawal symptoms, wont
The Devil's Dictionary (1881-1906):
HABIT, n. A shackle for the free.