cohesive

adjective

co·​he·​sive kō-ˈhē-siv 

-ziv

: exhibiting or producing cohesion or coherence

a cohesive social unit

cohesive soils

the cohesive property of clay

cohesively adverb

cohesiveness noun

Did you know?

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

Their tribe is a small but cohesive group.

Religion can be used as a cohesive social force.

Recent Examples on the Web

Tasked with updating a 26-year-old novel that has aged poorly, Kelley pares back so much context and character development that what’s left never resolves into a cohesive story. —Judy Berman, TIME, 2 May 2024

Another hallmark of the deep plane lift: The soft tissue layers of the face (the skin, fat, and SMAS) are uprooted and moved as a cohesive unit rather than being divided through the fat and treated separately as is customary with SMAS facelifts. —Jolene Edgar, Allure, 1 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin cohaesus, past participle of cohaerēre "to stick together, cohere" + -ive

First Known Use

circa 1731, in the meaning defined above

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Medical Definition

cohesive

adjective

co·​he·​sive kō-ˈhē-siv, -ziv 

: exhibiting or producing cohesion

cohesively adverb

cohesiveness noun