How does the verb cleave contrast with its synonyms?
Some common synonyms of cleave are adhere, cling, cohere, and stick. While all these words mean "to become closely attached," cleave stresses strength of attachment.
the wet shirt cleaved to his back
When might adhere be a better fit than cleave?
The words adhere and cleave can be used in similar contexts, but adhere is often interchangeable with stick but sometimes implies a growing together.
antibodies adhering to a virus
When is it sensible to use cling instead of cleave?
The meanings of cling and cleave largely overlap; however, cling implies attachment by hanging on with arms or tendrils.
clinging to a capsized boat
When could cohere be used to replace cleave?
The words cohere and cleave are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, cohere suggests a sticking together of parts so that they form a unified mass.
eggs will make the mixture cohere
Where would stick be a reasonable alternative to cleave?
While in some cases nearly identical to cleave, stick implies attachment by affixing or by being glued together.
couldn't get the label to stick
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of cleave
Verb
In 1865, more than eight decades after Elizabeth Freeman defeated slavery in Massachusetts, the practice was finally abolished throughout the United States, though only after a civil war that cleaved the young nation and cost more than 600,000 lives.—New York Times,
22 June 2026 For years, Seattle’s waterfront was isolated and written off as a tourist trap thanks to a double-decker highway that cleaved it from the rest of the city.—
Allecia Vermillion,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
26 May 2026 Trunks were cleaved down the center.—
Eric Adler,
Kansas City Star,
27 Apr. 2026 The two rows of buildings are cleaved down the middle by a pathway leading visitors toward the temple.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026 But there’s one factor helping them on Iran policy right now, two decades after Iraq cleaved the Democratic Party in two.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
28 Feb. 2026 Cyprus was cleaved along ethnic lines in 1974 when Turkey invaded following a coup aiming to unite the island with Greece.—ABC News,
25 Feb. 2026 Perceptions about the country’s and states' trajectories cleaved along partisan lines for respondents in both Houston and Chicago.—
Maliya Ellis,
Houston Chronicle,
11 Feb. 2026 Because of Proposition 50, the current, deep-red district will be cleaved into three pieces.—Los Angeles Times,
23 Jan. 2026
But a new fastest time from UAE’s Florian Vermeersch on June 2 of this year — 23km at an average speed of 75kmh — suggests that not everyone has adhered.
—
Chris Marshall-Bell,
New York Times,
29 June 2026
Decorating rules can be helpful guidelines, but adhering too strictly to conventional wisdom can seriously cramp your style.
All of that oil stuck behind a barrage of missiles and sea lanes choked with mines led a number of respected oil analysts to predict that oil prices would surge as high as $150, or even $200 by the summer.
—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
25 June 2026
Board-game groups on Meetup grew about 10% per year from 2021 to 2023, and the momentum has stuck well past lockdown.