Definition of habitual adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

habitual

adjective

/həˈbɪtʃuəl/

[only before noun] usual for or typical of somebody/something
- They waited for his habitual response.
- (formal) a person’s place of habitual residence
- She sat sipping her habitual cup of tea.
Extra Examples
- He reacted with his habitual cynicism
- She reverted to her habitual frown.
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(of an action) done, often in a way that is annoying or difficult to stop
- habitual complaining
- the habitual use of heroin
Extra Examples
- The mechanic had been dismissed for habitual lateness.
- Is habitual drunkenness considered to be grounds for divorce?
[only before noun] (of a person) doing something that has become a habit and is therefore difficult to stop
- a habitual criminal/drinker/liar
Some speakers do not pronounce the ‘h’ at the beginning of habitual and use ‘an’ instead of ‘a’ before it. This now sounds old-fashioned.
Extra Examples
- He was a habitual cocaine user.
- Habitual criminals were required to report once a month to a police station after they were released.

Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘part of one's character’): from medieval Latin habitualis, from habitus ‘condition, appearance’, from habere ‘have, consist of’.

See habitual in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee habitual in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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Nearby words

trait

noun

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