Other Word Forms
- nonadherence noun
- preadherence noun
Etymology
Origin of adherence
Explanation
Adherence means "sticking to" or "being faithful to," such as your adherence to your diet even when chocolate cake is around, or students' adherence to school rules — they do not use cell phones or music players in class. The noun adherence is related to the verb adhere, meaning “to stick.” If something adheres, it sticks it to something, like a bumper stick that adheres to a car or a person who adheres to a plan, not changing it along the way. Adherence describes this willingness to stick or be faithful, like adherence to child labor laws that means young workers cannot work past a certain time on school nights.
Vocabulary lists containing adherence
This Week in Words: December 9 - 15, 2017
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Lyddie
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Herbert Hoover on "Rugged Individualism" (1928)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In effect, the free flow of goods on the open seas hinged on global adherence to rules the U.S. helped write, but lacked the capacity to enforce.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
Surfshark has undergone two independent audits by Deloitte — first in 2023 and again in 2025 — both of which verified its no-logs policy and adherence to international security standards.
From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026
In fact, the National Committee for Quality Assurance only tracked whether someone was on a statin, and their adherence to it.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 19, 2026
The impacts of the levies have been muted by the president's broad adherence to an existing North American free trade agreement.
From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026
Our religion’s adherence to the Julian calendar has once again left us out of sync with the neighborhood.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
