cacoethes

cacoethes [ˌkækəʊˈiːθiːz]

n

(Medicine / Pathology) an uncontrollable urge or desire, esp for something harmful; mania a cacoethes for smoking

[from Latin cacoēthes malignant disease, from Greek kakoēthēs of an evil disposition, from kakos caco- + ēthos character]

cacoethic  [ˌkækəʊˈɛθɪk] adj

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cacoethes

a chronic and overwhelming desire; mania. — cacoethic, adj.

See also: Disease and Illness

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

cacoethes - an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action mania, passion irrational motive - a motivation that is inconsistent with reason or logic agromania - an intense desire to be alone or out in the open dipsomania, potomania, alcoholism - an intense persistent desire to drink alcoholic beverages to excess egomania - an intense and irresistible love for yourself and concern for your own needs kleptomania - an irresistible impulse to steal in the absence of any economic motive logomania, logorrhea - pathologically excessive (and often incoherent) talking monomania, possession - a mania restricted to one thing or idea necromania, necrophilia, necrophilism - an irresistible sexual attraction to dead bodies phaneromania - an irresistible desire to pick at superficial body parts (as in obsessive nail-biting) pyromania - an uncontrollable desire to set fire to things trichotillomania - an irresistible urge to pull out your own hair