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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
Vasuki Shastry, Forbes.com, 25 July 2025
Stage the candles together on a mantel or entry table, or scatter them throughout your living space to create a colorful yet cohesive soft lighting effect.
—Sophia Beams, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 July 2025
Democrats seek to strategize on funding Democrats met behind closed doors on Tuesday to try to hash out a cohesive strategy for approaching government funding ahead of the s
hutdown deadline.
—Allison Pecorin, ABC News, 23 July 2025
Lacking a cohesive tradition, Gee turned to Catholicism for its structured system of belief.
—Terry Nguyen
july 23, Literary Hub, 23 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for cohesive
Cite this Entry
“Cohesive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cohesive. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
cohesive
adjective
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