Cohesive describes something that sticks together literally or figuratively. To get into the stickiness of the matter, look at the word's etymology: cohesive ultimately derives from Latin haerere, meaning "to stick." Other descendants of haerere in English include adhere (literally meaning "to stick"), its relative adhesive (a word for a substance for sticking things together), inhere (meaning "to belong by nature or habit"), and even hesitate (which implies remaining stuck in place before taking action). Haerere also teamed up with the prefix co- to form cohaerere, an ancestor of cohesive, cohesion ("a sticking together"), cohere ("to stick together"), and coherent ("able to stick together" or "logically consistent").
Examples of cohesive in a Sentence
Their tribe is a small but cohesive group.
Religion can be used as a cohesive social force.
Recent Examples on the WebWhere the Bad News Is the Good News: Despite a recession, a shrinking population and politics tainted by corruption, Japan remains remarkably stable and cohesive, with little sense of impending doom or signs of societal discord.—Motoko Rich, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2024 Although Endeavor executives were bullish that these different parts of entertainment would form a cohesive and successful business, some investors were skeptical.—Wendy Lee, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for cohesive
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cohesive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Latin cohaesus, past participle of cohaerēre "to stick together, cohere" + -ive
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