internet addiction disorder

noun

A disorder characterized by excessive Internet use that interferes with daily life.

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Meanings

internet addiction disorder1

nouninternet addiction disorder (uncountable)
  1. uncountableAlternative letter-case form of Internet addiction disorder.

Internet addiction disorder2

nounInternet addiction disorder (uncountable)

alternative internet addiction disorder

  1. uncountablemedicineA disorder characterized by excessive Internet use that interferes with daily life.

    Synonyms: IAD

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA disorder characterized by excessive Internet use that interferes with daily life.

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Origin

First used in 1995 by Dr. Ivan K. Goldberg as a joke to parody the complexity and rigidity of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but was shortly thereafter legitimized in some spaces as an actual disorder.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

internet addiction disorder. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/internet%20addiction%20disorder

MLA

“internet addiction disorder.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/internet%20addiction%20disorder. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “internet addiction disorder,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/internet%20addiction%20disorder.

Source: internet addiction disorder on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.