cohesion

noun

co·he·sion | \ kō-ˈhē-zhən

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

Other Words from cohesion Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about cohesion

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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.

Examples of cohesion in a Sentence

There was a lack of cohesion in the rebel army.

Recent Examples on the Web

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo should ensure that America’s European allies understand that a smooth Brexit is important to Continental and Western cohesion and that proposals like Mr. Czaputowicz’s need to be explored. — Walter Russell Mead, WSJ, "Charles de Gaulle Saw Brexit Coming," 21 Jan. 2019 The observation that liberal rights will undermine themselves unless they are underwritten by a certain level of national cohesion is the most important of Mr. Hazony’s book. — Jason Willick, WSJ, "‘The Virtue of Nationalism’ and ‘The Nationalist Revival’ Review: Against the Liberal Empire," 9 Oct. 2018 Europe may come apart at the seams because the cumulative effect of accepting nonthreatening refugees daily poses a major threat to Western cohesion, values, resources and fiscal health. — WSJ, "Consider the Assimilationablity of Refugees," 8 Nov. 2018 Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe, basically every player on the team—can translate to group cohesion. — Si.com Staff, SI.com, "Weekend Read: A Case for All 16 Teams to Win the World Cup, Reflecting on Tyler Hilinski and More," 29 June 2018 The cohesion and chemistry of those players, Thibodeau’s relentless, serious approach and Rose’s can’t-be-denied power and speed propelled the Bulls. — K.c. Johnson, chicagotribune.com, "20 years since dissolution of the dynasty, Bulls still a long way from the top," 10 June 2018 Sermanni said the club lacked cohesion after that defeat. — Jordan Culver, Pro Soccer USA, "Orlando Pride set for rematch against Houston Dash," 10 July 2018 What is more, the next round of EU cohesion-policy funds, to run from 2021 to 2027, will be much less generous to central and eastern Europe than the current one, which started in 2014 and runs until 2020. — The Economist, "Central Europe’s Goldilocks economies," 5 July 2018 The European Commission’s blueprint for the 2021-2027 EU budget of 1.28 trillion euros ($1.54 trillion) seeks to reduce spending on cohesion policy by about 7 percent, according to Budget Commissioner Guenther Oettinger. — Ewa Krukowska, Bloomberg.com, "EU Regional Aid to Shrink Under Plan Rebuked by Eastern Members," 2 May 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.