cohesion

noun

co·​he·​sion kō-ˈhē-zhən 

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

kō-ˈhē-zhən-ləs 

adjective

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

But the film also makes a sometimes-dutiful effort to bring cohesion to Hunt’s decades-long collection of missions. —David Sims, The Atlantic, 23 May 2025

And that means everyone has a role to play—especially leaders who are now responsible not just for performance, but for connection, cohesion, and clarity. —Nirit Cohen, Forbes.com, 22 May 2025

New Order In a recent chat with The Times, Bernard Sumner spoke lovingly about New Order’s revival and attributed it partially to the band’s newfound cohesion. —Julius Miller, Los Angeles Times, 19 May 2025

Minnesota’s cohesion should be a boon to Collier’s production and the Lynx’s chemistry from the jump. —Ben Pickman, New York Times, 15 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1660, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for cohesion

• adhesion
• artesian
• cartesian
• elysian
• magnesian
• austronesian
• indonesian
• melanesian
• micronesian
• polynesian
• ferromagnesian
• friesian

Kids Definition

cohesion

noun

co·​he·​sion kō-ˈhē-zhən 

1

: the action or state of sticking together

2

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

cohesive

kō-ˈhē-siv

-ziv

adjective

cohesiveness noun

Medical Definition

cohesion

noun

co·​he·​sion kō-ˈhē-zhən 

1

: the act or process of sticking together tightly

2

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