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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
Elizabeth Fogarty, Better Homes & Gardens, 17 Aug. 2025
That was a lot more manageable when the group was a cohesive unit.
—Patrick Connolly, The Orlando Sentinel, 16 Aug. 2025
What’s needed is a way to integrate AI and legacy systems into one cohesive, end-to-end process.
—Jakob Freund, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
This fostered trust and guaranteed a cohesive team upon reopening.
—Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 15 Aug. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Cohesive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cohesive. Accessed 22 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
cohesive
adjective
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