cohesion

noun

co·​he·​sion kō-ˈhē-zhən How to pronounce cohesion (audio)
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 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 And that infrastructure builds a strategy of cohesion that enables it. Journal Sentinel, 6 Mar. 2024 The result of that cohesion, for which conductor Enrique Mazzola and the set designer Allen Moyer also deserve credit, is an uncommonly intense experience at the opera house. Chris Jones, Chicago Tribune, 28 Jan. 2024 Traditional exterior details, including shake shingles and lantern-style light fixtures, create visual cohesion on the outside. Jessica Bennett, Better Homes & Gardens, 21 Jan. 2024 Or, the plaza might have represented a broader form of social cohesion than had been previously seen before. Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 29 Feb. 2024 The Midtown Neighborhood Alliance is working to build neighborhood identity and cohesion. Journal Sentinel, 27 Feb. 2024 Those Dubs lacked a rhythm, an identity, and any sense of cohesion. Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 20 Feb. 2024 India’s founding fathers took great pains to keep the state at arm’s length from religion, seeing it as crucial to the country’s cohesion after the communal bloodletting wrought by the 1947 partition that cleaved Pakistan from India. Hari Kumar Atul Loke, New York Times, 22 Jan. 2024 The issues have been with the team as a unit, a group that has played more like individuals than one operating with cohesion. Austin Knoblauch, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cohesion.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of cohesion was in 1660

Dictionary Entries Near cohesion

Cite this Entry

“Cohesion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cohesion. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

cohesion

noun
co·​he·​sion kō-ˈhē-zhən How to pronounce cohesion (audio)
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 How to pronounce cohesion (audio)
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
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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