adhesive

adhesive (ədˈhiːsɪv)

—*adj*
1.	able or designed to adhere; sticky: adhesive tape
2.	tenacious or clinging

—n
3.	a substance used for sticking objects together, such as glue, cement, or paste

ad'hesively

—*adv*

ad'hesiveness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

adhesive

1660s, from Fr. adhésif, formed in Fr., from L. adhaesionem (nom. adhaesio) "a sticking to" (see adhesion). The noun is attested from 1912.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

adhesive ad·he·sive (ād-hē'sĭv, -zĭv)
adj.

Tending to adhere; sticky.
Of, relating to, or having the characteristics of an adhesion.

n.
A substance that adheres to a surface or causes adherence between surfaces.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

adhesive

  (ād-hē'sĭv) Pronunciation Key
Noun   A substance, such as paste or cement, that causes two surfaces to stick together. Adhesives are made of gelatin or other substances, such as epoxy, resin, or polyethylene.

Adjective   Relating to adhesion.

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

adhesive

any substance that is capable of holding materials together in a functional manner by surface attachment that resists separation. "Adhesive" as a general term includes cement, mucilage, glue, and paste-terms that are often used interchangeably for any organic material that forms an adhesive bond. Inorganic substances such as portland cement also can be considered adhesives, in the sense that they hold objects such as bricks and beams together through surface attachment, but this article is limited to a discussion of organic adhesives, both natural and synthetic

Learn more about adhesive with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences

There's also minimal adhesive sticking the motherboard to other components, making a full teardown relatively easy.

Dishes arrive on wooden boards with a slightly adhesive waxy surface, so that artful presentations don't slide around.

It is an adhesive that gets every kind of player stuck to it.

If you plan to use wallpaper, check with the manufacturer to make sure the

adhesive will stick to the primer.

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tape adherend adhesive binding adhesive factor Band-Aid bat printing

Matching Quote

"Computers "remember" things in the form of discrete entries: the input of quantities, graphics, words, etc. Each item is separable, perhaps designated by a unique address or file name, and all of it subject to total recall. Unless the machine malfunctions, it can regurgitate everything it has stored exactly as it was entered, whether a single number or a lengthy document. This is what we expect of the machine. Human memory, on the other hand, is the invisible psychic adhesive that holds our identity together from moment to moment. This makes it a radically different phenomenon from computer memory. For one thing, it is fluid rather than granular, more like a wave than a particle. Like a wave, it spreads through the mind, puddling up here and there in odd personal associations that may be of the most inexplicable kind. It flows not only through the mind, but through the emotions, the senses, the body. We remember things as no computer can—in our muscles and reflexes: how to swim, play an instrument, use a tool."

-Theodore Roszak