dic-, dict- +

1. One who abdicates or renounces.
2. Forsaking, or deserting: "He was abdicant of his duty."

1. To proclaim or declare to be no longer one's own, to disclaim, disown, cast off; especially, to disown or disinherit children. Now only as a technical term of Roman Law (Latin abdicare filium, also abdicare patrem).
2. To formally give up (a right, trust, office, or dignity); to renounce, lay down, surrender, abandon; at first implying voluntary renunciation, but now including the idea of abandonment by default.
3. To renounce or relinquish sovereignty, or its equivalent.
4. To renounce, to reject, to resign.

A king who abdicates renounces or swears away his kingly privileges and duties.

1. To formally renounce, which is commonly done by a monarch of a throne; vacate a throne, relinquish, abandon: "Edward VIII of England abdicated the throne so he could marry a commoner."
2. A person can also “abdicate” his power, office, duties, or rights: "He abdicated his responsibilities as a father and never returned."

To formally give up a high office, a throne, or an authority; resignation: "The council denied that their decision represented any abdication of responsibility."

1. The action of formally renouncing, disowning, or casting off. Now only applied to the disowning of a son in Roman Law.
2. Resignation, surrender, renunciation (generally).
3. Resignation or abandonment, either formal or virtual, of sovereignty or other high trust.
4. Formal renunciation or relinquishment of the ownership of goods by an insurer to the underwriters; abandonment.

1. Someone who abdicates or who gives up a high office, formally or officially; especially, a royal throne.
2. Anyone who fails to fulfill a duty or responsibility: "The manager of the store was an abdicator of his duties."

1. Attached by one’s own inclination, self-addicted to (a practice); devoted, given, inclined to.
2. To devote, give up, or apply habitually to a practice.
3. Formally made over or bound (to another); attached by restraint or obligation; obliged, bound, devoted, consecrated.
4. One who is addicted to the habitual and excessive use of a drug.

Why is it that drug addicts and computer enthusiasts are both called "users"?

• Internet access has become a vital part of the modern world and an important tool in the education of children.
• Like addiction to drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, or caffeine, internet addiction is marked by symptoms of increasing tolerance, withdrawal, mood changes, and interruption of social relationships.
• Children and adolescents who have become addicted to the internet will require increasing amounts of time online in order to feel satisfied.
• When they do not have access to the internet, they may have symptoms of withdrawal, which include anxiety, depression, irritability, trembling hands, restlessness and obsessive thinking or fantasizing about the internet.
• Internet addiction is not limited just to introverted "computer-techies".
• The internet can provide a welcome escape for individuals who already suffer from a variety of psychological difficulties including anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem.
• Additionally, those who have struggled with other types of addiction may more easily become obsessed with the internet.

To devote or give oneself habitually or compulsively to something; such as, caffeine or alcohol; but especially to narcotics: "Her previous novel dealt with her recovery from drug addiction."

An addict is a slave to his/her habit(s). The word comes from Latin addictus, which in Roman law meant a debtor was awarded as a slave to his creditor.

A specialist in the study and treatment of addictions.

The study and treatment of addictions.

1. The conditions of being addicted (self-addicted) or given to habits or pursuits; a devotion to causes or to special objectives.
2. States of being addicted to a drug; compulsions and needs to continue taking drugs as a result of taking them in the past.
3. In Roman Law, formally giving over or delivering by sentence of a court, or courts; hence, surrendering, or dedication, of people to masters.

For more information, see these compositions: Addicts and Addiction.

A reference to a drug, etc.: to which one may become addicted; causing dependence, habit-forming.

1. In law, to hear and decide (a case), to reach a judicial decision about something; adjudge.
2. Someone who serves as a judge and to make an official decision about a problem or dispute.

1. Reaching a final judgment in a legal proceeding.
2. The act of pronouncing judgment based on the evidence presented.