cohesion

Language: en

🇺🇸 /koʊˈhiːʒən/

📖 Definitions

  1. noun
    The action or fact of forming a united whole; the state of sticking together or being united.; In physics, the intermolecular force that holds together the molecules of the same substance.; In linguistics, the grammatical and lexical linking within a text or sentence that holds it together and gives it meaning.; In geology, the internal strength or resistance of a soil or rock mass to shearing, independent of friction.

🔗 Details

Word forms

uncountable

Collocations

social cohesiongroup cohesionsense of cohesionlack of cohesionteam cohesion

Derivatives

cohesivecohesivelycohesivenesscoherecoherentcoherence

Synonyms

unitysolidaritytogethernesscoherencebond

Antonyms

divisionfragmentationdisunity

Commonly confused

coherence
EN: 'Coherence' refers to logical consistency and clarity of ideas; 'cohesion' refers to the state of sticking together as a unified whole.
adhesion
EN: 'Adhesion' is the sticking together of different substances or surfaces; 'cohesion' is the internal unity or bonding within a single group or substance.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember 'cohesion' uses '-sion' (not '-tion'); do not confuse it with 'coherence' which has a different suffix and meaning.

💬 Examples

  1. The team's cohesion improved significantly after the retreat.

  2. The cohesion of water molecules is responsible for surface tension.

  3. The use of pronouns and conjunctions contributes to the cohesion of a paragraph.

  4. Clay soils have high cohesion, which makes them stable when dry but slippery when wet.