a. [ From L. adhamare to catch; ad + hamus hook. ] Clinging, as by hooks. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Adhered p. pr. & vb. n. Adhering ] [ L. adhaerere, adhaesum; ad + haerere to stick: cf. F. adhérer. See Aghast. ] 1. To stick fast or cleave, as a glutinous substance does; to become joined or united; as, wax to the finger; the lungs sometimes adhere to the pleura. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To hold, be attached, or devoted; to remain fixed, either by personal union or conformity of faith, principle, or opinion; as, men adhere to a party, a cause, a leader, a church. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To be consistent or coherent; to be in accordance; to agree. “Nor time nor place did then adhere.” “Every thing adheres together.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To attach; stick; cleave; cling; hold [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. adhérence, LL. adhaerentia. ] 1. The quality or state of adhering. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The state of being fixed in attachment; fidelity; steady attachment; adhesion; as, adherence to a party or to opinions. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Adherence, Adhesion. These words, which were once freely interchanged, are now almost entirely separated. Adherence is no longer used to denote physical union, but is applied, to mental states or habits; as, a strict adherence to one's duty; close adherence to the argument, etc. Adhesion is now confined chiefly to the physical sense, except in the phrase “To give in one's adhesion to a cause or a party.” [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The state or quality of being adherent; adherence. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which adheres. [ Obs. ] Dr. H. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. adhaerens, -entis, p. pr.: cf. F. adhérent. ] 1. Sticking; clinging; adhering. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Attached as an attribute or circumstance. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Bot.) Congenitally united with an organ of another kind, as calyx with ovary, or stamens with petals. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who adheres; one who adheres; one who follows a leader, party, or profession; a follower, or partisan; a believer in a particular faith or church. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. That which adheres; an appendage. [ R. ] Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Follower; partisan; upholder; disciple; supporter; dependent; ally; backer. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an adherent manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who adheres; an adherent. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. adhaesio, fr. adhaerere: cf. F. adhésion. ] 1. The action of sticking; the state of being attached; intimate union; as, the adhesion of glue, or of parts united by growth, cement, or the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Adherence; steady or firm attachment; fidelity; as, adhesion to error, adhesion to a policy. [ 1913 Webster ]

His adhesion to the Tories was bounded by his approbation of their foreign policy. De Quincey. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Agreement to adhere; concurrence; assent. [ 1913 Webster ]

To that treaty Spain and England gave in their adhesion. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Physics) The molecular attraction exerted between bodies in contact. See Cohesion. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Med.) The process of uniting surfaces by the formation of new fibrous bands resulting from an inflammatory process. [ AS ]

6. (Med.) One of the fibrous bands resulting from adhesion{ 5 }. [ AS ]

7. (Bot.) The union of parts which are separate in other plants, or in younger states of the same plant. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Adherence; union. See Adherence. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Cf. F. adhésif. ] 1. Sticky; tenacious, as glutinous substances. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Apt or tending to adhere; clinging. Thomson. [ 1913 Webster ]

Adhesive attraction. (Physics) See Attraction. --
Adhesive inflammation (Surg.), that kind of inflammation which terminates in the reunion of divided parts without suppuration. --
Adhesive plaster, a sticking; a plaster containing resin, wax, litharge, and olive oil. [ 1913 Webster ]