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, cacoethes scribendi, "The itch for writing".
Addison.
2. Med.
A bad quality or disposition in a disease; an incurable ulcer.
© Webster 1913.