Addicted To: Standard Pattern
Addicted To: Standard Pattern records a directly documented English construction and keeps guidance bounded to the evidenced pattern rather than inventing a broader prohibition.
Use “addicted to” to identify the substance, activity, or thing someone cannot stop using or doing.
Key details
Choose the right form
| Context | Use | Decision |
|---|---|---|
| identify a substance or thing after the adjective | addicted to + noun | Use “to” before the noun complement. |
| identify an activity after the adjective | addicted to + -ing form | Because “to” is a preposition here, an activity can follow in -ing form. |
| judge whether a real person has an addiction | outside this grammar page | Do not use a grammar example as a medical diagnosis. |
Quick tests
Decision test
Are you completing the adjective “addicted” with the substance, activity, or thing being referred to?
If yes: Use “addicted to”; use an -ing form when the complement is an activity.
If no: If the question is whether a real behaviour constitutes addiction, that is a separate clinical question rather than a grammar choice.
Caveat: This page explains the documented complement pattern only and does not diagnose, recommend, or evaluate real-world substance use or behaviour.
Examples
The character is described as addicted to gambling.
An activity follows the preposition “to” in -ing form.
The report says he became addicted to the drug.
A noun phrase can follow “to” as the complement.
The novel portrays her as addicted to checking the news.
An -ing phrase can name the repeated activity in the grammatical pattern.
Further guidance
Construction
Use “addicted to” to identify the substance, activity, or thing someone cannot stop using or doing.
Style Boundary
“Addicted” can also stand without a following complement, so this guide records the documented “to” construction rather than claiming that every use requires it.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- ADDICTED | English meaning — Cambridge Dictionary (opens in a new tab)Cambridge Dictionary · Direct dictionary evidence for the adjective construction “addicted to”.