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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
Paul Lipman, Forbes.com, 10 July 2025
The album sounded cohesive, but then there were also different vibes, kind of more uptempo, more mellow.
—Andre Gee, Rolling Stone, 9 July 2025
Original price: $17.45 This trendy ring stack is intended to be worn on one finger or spread out across different fingers for a cohesive look.
—Caitlyn Martyn
May Earn A Commission If You Buy Through Our Referral Links. This Content Was Created By A Team That Works Independently From The Fox Newsroom., FOXNews.com, 8 July 2025
The operations thus made the Iranian nation more cohesive and strengthened the hand of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
—Mohammad Ayatollahi Tabaar, Foreign Affairs, 8 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Cohesive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cohesive. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
cohesive
adjective
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