adherence

Language: en

🇺🇸 /əˈdhɪrəns/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    The act or quality of adhering; steady attachment or devotion to a person, cause, belief, or practice.; The physical act of sticking or clinging to a surface.; In medicine, the degree to which a patient follows a prescribed treatment regimen.

🔗 Details

Word forms

uncountable

Collocations

adherence tostrict adherenceclose adherencefull adherenceadherence to the rulesadherence to guidelines

Derivatives

adhereadherentadhesiveadhesionadhesivelyadhesiveness

Synonyms

complianceconformityobservancefidelityfaithfulnessdevotion

Antonyms

noncompliancedeviationdisregard

Commonly confused

adhesion
EN: 'Adhesion' refers to the physical sticking together of surfaces; 'adherence' refers to following rules, beliefs, or commitments.
adherent
EN: 'Adherent' is a noun meaning a follower/supporter or an adjective meaning sticking; 'adherence' is the abstract noun for the act of adhering.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember 'adherence' has an 'e' before the '-nce' ending (not 'adherance'). The related adjective is 'adherent,' not 'adherant.'

💬 Examples

  1. His strict adherence to the rules earned him respect from his colleagues.

  2. The adherence of the paint to the wall was poor due to moisture.

  3. Poor medication adherence is a major factor in treatment failure.