Why is buprenorphine less addictive than other opioids

Question

Why is buprenorphine less addictive than other opioids (such as fentanyl) - is it understandable by its strength of binding to the general receptor?

Answer 1

Buprenorphine is what is termed to as a partial agonist; that is, it binds to the receptor however even at its maximum can’t provide as much of an effect as a full agonist (like morphine) - it is, therefore, as well a partial antagonist (partly inhibits the actions of full agonists).

As addiction is probable to be linked to strength of the consequence of the drug, buprenorphine has much less effect and, thus, less addiction.