Pronunciation: al-kuh-HOL-ik
Simple meaning
An alcoholic is a person affected by alcoholism.
Today, people may use the word in different ways. Sometimes it is used medically, sometimes casually, sometimes harshly, and sometimes as a simple self-description in recovery. In Big Book study, the word needs to be read carefully because it is not always being used as a casual label.
Older meaning
Older dictionary definitions often describe an alcoholic as a person who suffers from alcoholism or is affected by excessive or compulsive drinking.
That older meaning matters because the word points to more than someone who drinks alcohol. It suggests a person with a particular condition involving alcohol.
Why this word matters
In Big Book reading, “alcoholic” is one of the central words. It helps separate ordinary drinking, heavy drinking, and alcoholism as described in the text.
A person may drink too much and still not fit what the book is describing. Another person may sincerely want to stop and still find that they return to alcohol again and again.
It is not only about how much a person drinks, how often they drink, what kind of alcohol they drink, or how respectable their life looks from the outside. The word points toward the relationship between the person, alcohol, the mind, the body, and the need for a solution.
Common misunderstanding
A common misunderstanding is to think alcoholic only means someone who drinks every day, has lost everything, or looks obviously ruined.
In Big Book study, it may be more useful to ask:
What happens when this person drinks?
Can they reliably control the amount once they start?
Can they stay stopped on their own power when they honestly want to?
What does the text say about the condition being described?
Study note
This website works best with a copy of the Big Book in your hand. Look for the word “alcoholic” in the Doctor’s Opinion and the first 164 pages. Notice whether the surrounding passage is talking about the person, the condition, the reaction to alcohol, the mental return to drinking, or the solution.
Related words
allergy
craving
obsession
problem
malady