adhere
[ad-heer]
- to stay attached; stick fast; cleave; cling (usually followed by to): The mud adhered to his shoes.
- Physics. (of two or more dissimilar substances) to be united by a molecular force acting in the area of contact.
- to be devoted in support or allegiance; be attached as a follower or upholder (usually followed by to): to adhere to a party.
- to hold closely or firmly (usually followed by to): to adhere to a plan.
- Obsolete. to be consistent.
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- to cause to adhere; make stick: Glue will adhere the tiles to the wallboard.
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Origin of adhere
1590–1600; < Medieval Latin adhērēre for Latin adhaerēre (ad- ad- + haerēre to stick, cling), perhaps via Middle French adhérer
Synonyms
See more synonyms for adhere on Thesaurus.com1. See stick2.
Antonyms
1. part, loosen.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for adhering
Contemporary Examples
Ben is not Orthodox or particularly committed to adhering to traditional Jewish laws.
Place a pastry circle over each bowl, adhering it with the egg wash.
To be sure, the trade-off for adhering to Chinese restrictions is a lucrative market of professionals.
What could audiences possibly gain from watching Hollywood personnel go through the motions of adhering to an Asian precursor?
They were adhering to a code of silence that had seemingly been reinforced by the institution.
Historical Examples
It will be noticed that Captain Eri was adhering strictly to the truth.
Cap'n EriJoseph Crosby Lincoln
The key had risen over the ridge which had held it, and was adhering to the knife.
The Great DroughtSterner St. Paul Meek
Never be ashamed of adhering to what you know to be your duty.
Advice to a Young Man upon First Going to OxfordEdward Berens
True manliness consists in adhering to what you think to be right.
Advice to a Young Man upon First Going to OxfordEdward Berens
By adhering to it she was simply fulfilling the contract she had entered into with him.
Mary WollstonecraftElizabeth Robins Pennell
adhere
- (usually foll by to) to stick or hold fast
- (foll by to) to be devoted (to a political party, cause, religion, etc); be a follower (of)
- (foll by to) to follow closely or exactlyadhere to the rules
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Word Origin
C16: via Medieval Latin adhērēre from Latin adhaerēre to stick to
xref
See adhesion
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 adhering
adhere
v.
1590s, from Middle French adhérer (15c.) or directly from Latin adhaerare "to stick to" (see adherent). Originally often of persons, "to cleave to a leader, cause, party, etc." (cf. adherent, still often used in this sense). Related: Adhered; adhering.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper