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The Latin verb haerēre has shown remarkable stick-to-itiveness in influencing the English lexicon, which is fitting for a word that means "to be closely attached; to stick." Among its descendants are adhere (literally meaning "to stick"), adhere’s relative adhesive (a word for sticky substances), inhere (meaning "to belong by nature or habit"), and even hesitate (which implies remaining stuck in place before taking action). In Latin, haerēre teamed up with the prefix co- to form cohaerēre, which means "to stick together." Cohaerēre is the ancestor of cohesive, a word borrowed into English in the early 18th century to describe something that sticks together literally (such as dough or mud) or figuratively (such as a society or sports team).
Examples of cohesive in a Sentence
Greg Beacham, Chicago Tribune, 13 June 2026
The team looked inspired, and cohesive, from the start.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 13 June 2026
Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund's film feels like a good novel, with art, crime, love, and squalor all intersecting in a cohesive story that manages to astonish.
—Eric Farwell, Entertainment Weekly, 12 June 2026
The color scheme for Thursday’s event included the bluish green tones present in Union’s sartorial statement, creating a cohesive, slightly method dressing, take for the event.
—Julia Teti, Footwear News, 12 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for cohesive
Cite this Entry
“Cohesive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cohesive. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
cohesive
adjective
