cohesion

American  

[koh-hee-zhuhn] / koʊˈhi ʒən /

noun

1. the act or state of cohering, uniting, or sticking together.

2. Physics. the molecular force between particles within a body or substance that acts to unite them.

3. Botany. the congenital union of one part with another.

4. Linguistics. the property of unity in a written text or a segment of spoken discourse that stems from links among its surface elements, as when words in one sentence are repeated in another, and especially from the fact that some words or phrases depend for their interpretation upon material in preceding or following text, as in the sequence Be assured of this. Most people do not want to fight. However, they will do so when provoked, where this refers to the two sentences that follow, they refers back to most people, do so substitutes for the preceding verb fight, and however relates the clause that follows to the preceding sentence.

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cohesion British  

/ kəʊˈhiːʒən /

noun

1. the act or state of cohering; tendency to unite

2. physics the force that holds together the atoms or molecules in a solid or liquid, as distinguished from adhesion

3. botany the fusion in some plants of flower parts, such as petals, that are usually separate

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cohesion Scientific  

/ kō-hē′zhən /

1. The force of attraction that holds molecules of a given substance together. It is strongest in solids, less strong in liquids, and least strong in gases. Cohesion of molecules causes drops to form in liquids (as when liquid mercury is poured on a piece of glass), and causes condensing water vapor to form the droplets that make clouds.

2. Compare adhesion

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cohesion Cultural  

1. The molecular (see molecule) attraction or joining of the surfaces of two pieces of the same substance. (Compare adhesion.)

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Other Word Forms

• cohesionless adjective
• intercohesion noun
• noncohesion noun

Etymology

Origin of cohesion

First recorded in 1670–80; variant of cohaesion, from Latin cohaes(us) “stuck together” (past participle of cohaerēre “to stick, cling together”; cohere ) + -iō -ion

Example Sentences

Nineteenth-century Italian operas are rarely concerned with large-scale musical cohesion or radical topics.

From The Wall Street Journal

The social cohesion plan, which will be published on Monday, also includes measures aimed at promoting integration and tackling "extremist influence" in institutions, such as charities and universities.

From BBC

Fabian Molina, member of parliament for the Social Democrats, fears cuts to the licence fee would undermine Switzerland's "national cohesion", where all regions and linguistic communities are supposed to be treated equally.

From BBC

Head coach Steve Borthwick has, in the past, zeroed in on the continuity, cohesion and the long-term lessons imprinted by the white heat of a Test match - but was citing different evidence this week.

From BBC

Experts said the pod's "strong social cohesion" may have led the group to follow the distressed female into shallow waters.

From BBC

Related Words

• coherence