cohesion

noun co·he·sion \ kō-ˈhē-zhən \

Updated on: 12 May 2018

Definition of cohesion

1 : the act or state of sticking together tightly; especially : unity

the lack of cohesion in the Party
—The Times Literary Supplement (London)

cohesion among soldiers in a unit

2 : union between similar plant parts or organs

3 : molecular attraction by which the particles of a body are united throughout the mass

—

cohesionless

play \kō-ˈhē-zhən-ləs\ adjective

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Examples of cohesion in a Sentence

There was a lack of cohesion in the rebel army.

Recent Examples of cohesion from the Web

The program, the way it was presented, suffers from a lack of cohesion and detail.

— refinery29.com, "We Have A Few Questions About Melania Trump's "Be Best"," 8 May 2018
The artists did not confer with one another in creating the posters, but nevertheless, the three works in Brand New SW share thematic similarities that contribute to the overall cohesion of the project.

— kate keller, Smithsonian, "Modern Takes on 80s Artwork Hit Washington D.C. Streets," 23 Apr. 2018
Hicks’ resignation ended a chaotic month, even by the standards of an administration that has struggled to maintain even a semblance of balance or cohesion.

— vivian salama, NBC News, "White House remains silent as fallout from staff shake-up grows," 1 Mar. 2018
Neller acknowledged no problems with unit cohesion, disciplinary problems and morale associated with transgender Marines.

— tom vanden brook, USA TODAY, "President Trump wants to ban most transgender troops but brass has few issues with them," 25 Apr. 2018
Unlike Protestant denominations, Mormons prize hierarchy and cohesion.

— john g. turner, WSJ, "Mormonism’s Global Future," 19 Apr. 2018
Too much firepower and skill, too much defensive ferocity, too much cohesion and sense of purpose.

— scott ostler, San Antonio Express-News, "By no means invincible, Golden State faces rocky path to Finals," 13 Apr. 2018
The score, of course, is irrelevant, but for Peru what does matter is the continuation of squad cohesion and development - and more importantly, staying healthy.

— luis miguel echegaray, SI.com, "Off Heels of Landmark Croatia Win, Peru Continues World Cup Fine-Tuning vs. Iceland," 25 Mar. 2018
The Cavaliers still pack the lane and try to challenge as many shots as possible, using cohesion to move a compact defensive unit around the floor.

— jeff greer, The Courier-Journal, "3 things to watch in Louisville basketball's Thursday rematch against Virginia," 7 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cohesion.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

Cohesion is one of the noun forms of cohere; the others are cohesiveness and coherence, each of which has a slightly different meaning. Coherence is often used to describe a person's speech or writing. An incoherent talk or blog post is one that doesn't "hang together;" and if the police pick up someone who they describe as incoherent, it means he or she isn't making sense. But to describe a group or team that always sticks together, you would use cohesive, not coherent. And the words you'd use in Chemistry class to describe the way molecules hang together—for example, the way water forms into beads and drops—are cohesion, cohesive, and cohesiveness.

Origin and Etymology of cohesion

borrowed from New Latin cohaesiōn-, cohaesiō (Medieval Latin, "proximity contact"), from Latin cohaes-, variant stem of cohaerēre "to stick together, cohere" + -iōn-, -iō -ion

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1660

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year