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adhere

verb

Simple meaning

To stick fast or cleave, as a glutinous substance does.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

uhdhir

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ədˈhɪɹ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. intransitive

    To stick fast or cleave, as a glutinous substance does; to become joined or united.

  2. Stick to firmly

    “Will this wallpaper adhere to the wall?”

  3. intransitivefigurative

    To be attached or devoted by personal union, in belief, on principle, etc.

  4. intransitivefigurative

    To be consistent or coherent; to be in accordance; to agree.

  5. transitive

    To fasten by adhesion.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: To stick fast or cleave, as a glutinous substance does; to become joined or united.

Used this way, adhere is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use adhere

  • “Will this wallpaper adhere to the wall?”verb
  • “You must adhere to the rules.”verb
  • “The residents of this village adhered to Catholicism.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Stick

adhere firmly

Come

adhere closelyadhere together

Other combinations

adhere strictlyadhere welladhere stronglyadhere rigidly

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • accede

    To give one's adhesion.

  • bind

    Stick to firmly.

  • stick

    To furnish or set with sticks.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • adherencenounDerived noun

    Faithful support for a cause or political party or religion.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.