Adjacent Words

Cacoethes definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

CACOETHES, n.
1. A bad custom or habit; a bad disposition.
2. In medicine, an incurable ulcer.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action [syn: mania, passion, cacoethes]

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. an urge to do something inadvisable. Etymology: L f. Gk kakoethes neut. adj. f. kakos bad + ethos disposition

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cacoethes Cac`o*["e]"thes, n. [L., fr. Gr. ???????? of ill habits, ?? ???????? an ill habit; ? bad + ? habit] 1. A bad custom or habit; an insatiable desire; as, caco["e]thes scribendi, ``The itch for writing''. --Addison. 2. (Med.) A bad quality or disposition in a disease; an incurable ulcer.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. [L.] 1. Bad habit, bad custom, diseased propensity. 2. (Med.) Incurable ulcer.