alcohol-dependent vs alcoholic

alcohol-dependent is not a noun while alcoholic is a noun.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
alcohol-dependent	No	Yes	No	No
alcoholic	Yes	Yes	No	No

As adjectives, alcohol-dependent and alcoholic are synonyms defined as:

alcohol-dependent (noun)	alcoholic (noun)
	a person who drinks alcohol to excess habitually

alcohol-dependent (adjective)	alcoholic (adjective)
addicted to alcohol	characteristic of or containing alcohol
	addicted to alcohol