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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
Melody Kazel, PEOPLE, 20 Sep. 2025
Success will belong to those who can weave together systems, stories and human understanding into a cohesive whole—leaders who not only keep pace with change, but set the tone for it.
—Barbara Puszkiewicz-Cimino, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
These companies have recently advocated for a cohesive national robotics strategy, with an eye to countering China’s growing success in the field.
—Jared Perlo, NBC news, 16 Sep. 2025
All the core apps get bright new icons, and the whole user interface looks more cohesive than before.
—Edward Mendelson, PC Magazine, 15 Sep. 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 21 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
cohesive
adjective
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