Slang – Shopaholic.
Someone who has a compulsive or excessive desire to shop, often resulting in excessive spending and accumulation of possessions. A shopaholic may feel a strong urge to buy things, even if they do not need them, and may experience a sense of pleasure or satisfaction from shopping. However, this behaviour can often lead to financial problems, stress, and other negative consequences.
The suffix -aholic is often used to describe someone who has a compulsive or addictive behaviour related to a particular activity or substance. This expression can also be used in a fun way to say that someone really enjoys something. Here are some common examples:
- alcoholic – someone who is addicted to alcohol
- bookaholic – someone who is addicted to reading
- chocoholic – someone who is addicted to chocolate
- textaholic – someone who is addicted to sending text messages
- tweetaholic – someone who is addicted to Twitter
- webaholic – someone who is addicted to the Internet
- workaholic – someone who is addicted to working
Try it yourself. Add …aholic to something you enjoy and make up a fun new English word!
Example:
- “Look at all those shopping bags! Have you been shopping all day again? You are such a shopaholic!”
In the News
Spotted in the newsHow I went from being a shopaholic to living simplystraitstimes.comListen:
What is slang?
Slang is very informal language. It’s usually spoken rather than written, and is often used by a particular group of people or in a particular place. Slang changes over time, and using it well is a great way to sound more natural when speaking English.
Frequently Asked Questions
Someone who has a compulsive or excessive desire to shop, often resulting in excessive spending and accumulating possessions they don’t need.
It describes someone with a compulsive or addictive behaviour toward a particular activity or substance — as in alcoholic, chocoholic, or workaholic.
Yes — English speakers often invent new words with it just for fun, like “textaholic” or “bookaholic”, to describe someone who really loves doing something.
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