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adhesive

[ad-hee-siv, -ziv]
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adjective
  1. coated with glue, paste, mastic, or other sticky substance: adhesive bandages.
  2. sticking fast; sticky; clinging.
  3. Physics. of or relating to the molecular force that exists in the area of contact between unlike bodies and that acts to unite them.
noun
  1. a substance that causes something to adhere, as glue or rubber cement.
  2. adhesive tape.
  3. Philately. a postage stamp with a gummed back, as distinguished from one embossed or printed on an envelope or card.

Origin of adhesive

First recorded in 1660–70; adhes(ion) + -ive
Related formsad·he·sive·ly, adverbad·he·sive·ness, nounnon·ad·he·sive, adjectivenon·ad·he·sive·ly, adverbnon·ad·he·sive·ness, nounsem·i·ad·he·sive, adjectivesem·i·ad·he·sive·ly, adverbsem·i·ad·he·sive·ness, nounun·ad·he·sive, adjectiveun·ad·he·sive·ly, adverbun·ad·he·sive·ness, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for adhesiveness

Historical Examples

  • Acquisitiveness is an essential trait of aristocracy, and adhesiveness of its perpetuity.

    The Origin of Man and of his Superstitions

    Carveth Read

  • Directly above Inhabitiveness and Adhesiveness, Continuity is located.

  • I mention this incident to give an idea of the adhesiveness of the glue used in the construction of Swifts' nests.

  • A little boiled rice flour improves its adhesiveness for indoor use.

    The Choctaw Freedmen

    Robert Elliott Flickinger

  • Fipps was a man of cosmopolitan tastes, and he had not the phrenological organs of locality and adhesiveness largely developed.

British Dictionary definitions for adhesiveness

adhesive

adjective
  1. able or designed to adhere; stickyadhesive tape
  2. tenacious or clinging
noun
  1. a substance used for sticking objects together, such as glue, cement, or paste
Derived Formsadhesively, adverbadhesiveness, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for adhesiveness

adhesive

adj.

1660s, from French adhésif, formed in French from Latin adhaes-, past participle stem of adhaere (see adherent).

adhesive

n.

1881, from adhesive (adj.). Originally of postage stamps (adhesive stamp is attested from 1840). Of substances that cause to adhere by 1900.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
adhesiveness in Medicine

adhesive

(ăd-hē′sĭv)
adj.
  1. Tending to adhere; sticky.
  2. Of, relating to, or having the characteristics of an adhesion.
n.
  1. A substance that adheres to a surface or causes adherence between surfaces.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
adhesiveness in Science

adhesive

[ăd-hē′sĭv]
Noun
  1. A substance, such as paste or cement, that causes two surfaces to stick together. Adhesives are made of gelatin or other substances, such as epoxy, resin, or polyethylene.
Adjective
  1. Relating to adhesion.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.